Ai-jen Poo: Domestic Workers and the Roots of Exclusion

November 2, 2011

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Domestic workers, many of them women of color or undocumented immigrants, are one of the most vulnerable labor pools when it comes to workplace abuses and sexual violence. In this video produced by Francis Reynolds and Emily Douglas, activist and director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance Ai-jen Poo talks about some of the issues surrounding domestic workers. She points out that the exclusion of domestic workers—the dramatic undervaluing of their work, the lack of protection from sexual violence and discrimination—has its roots both in the legacy of slavery and in the devaluing of women's work. "We don't even recognize all that work that's happening inside of homes to make the economy run," Poo says, because it is women who are doing and who have done this work.

About the Author

Emily Douglas

Emily Douglas is the senior editor at TheNation.com. Formerly an editor at RH Reality Check, she has written on...

Francis Reynolds

Francis Reynolds is The Nation's Editorial Producer.

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