Oaxaca actress Yalitza Aparicio was to give a talk today on gender equality in Geneva, Switzerland.

The star of the award-winning film Roma was invited by the International Labor Organization (ILO to participate in the United Nations agency’s International Women’s Day events.

According to an announcement by the ILO, Aparicio was to speak at an event called “A Quantum Leap for Gender Equality: For a Better Future of Work for All.”

Aparicio was also prominent in the Women’s Day events yesterday when the ILO hosted a special screening of Roma, a film that has drawn attention to the rights of female domestic workers worldwide.

The screening was followed by a panel discussion on vulnerable workers with Aparicio, Mexican union official Marcelina Bautista and ILO technical officer Claire Hobden.

The actress may soon have a prominent role on behalf of indigenous communities in Mexico. Yesterday, she was invited by indigenous leader Hipólito Arriaga to represent his organization as peace ambassador for Mexico’s indigenous communities.

“We would like to invite our sister Yalitza to represent the 68 original languages of Mexico as ambassador and to be our voice to the world.”

Source: El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)