Saturday Night Live’s Sasheer Zamata: Let’s Talk About Privilege

Hi, it's Sasheer Zamata, from Saturday Night Live! It's my privilege to serve as the new ACLU Celebrity Ambassador for the Women’s Rights Project, and speaking of privilege, I’m writing today to talk about the “P” word.

Some of us have more of it than others, and through no fault of our own. It’s a silent benefactor that helps us even when we don’t know it, making structural discrimination difficult to see. And it disproportionately affects women.

That’s why I’m working with the ACLU to shine a spotlight on gender and privilege — check out this video on Facebook and share it with your friends and family.

The fight to protect and advance the rights of women and girls is far from over.

We’ve made incredible strides in the past several decades, and they benefit me greatly. My dreams of working as a comedian and cast member on Saturday Night Live are a reality because of the great work people did before me to ensure diverse voices can be heard.

But women still face greater barriers in employment, education, health care, and criminal justice — especially those of color and living in poverty. In the U.S. today, women make 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man — with African-American women only earning 64 cents, and Latinas earning 55. I wish I were joking.

Plus, a woman’s right to choose is threatened by extreme lawmakers who have introduced more than 100 abortion restrictions in 2015 alone. And few legal protections exist for pregnant workers and new mothers — even though women are the primary breadwinners in 4 out of 10 families with children.

Please watch this video to learn more, and help us do something about it by spreading the word.

Thanks for continuing this conversation. It’ll be my privilege to work with you on this!

Sasheer