John -
Black women are essential--to our economy, democracy, and society. We are responsible for the well-being of families, communities, corporations, and the country as a whole.
Yet, our work continues to be horribly undervalued and underpaid: Black women are paid only 63 cents to every dollar that white men are paid.
In addition, Black women would need to work all of 2019 PLUS every day in 2020 up to today, August 13th, in order to make what a white male made in just 2019 alone.
Today is Black Women's Equal Pay Day and domestic workers are speaking out and standing up. Sign the pledge now to stand with Black domestic workers and all Black women now!
This race and gender-based wage gap continues to grow, even though Black women are working more hours than ever before. Numerous studies indicate that Black women would have to wait until 2124 to reach pay equity with white men if wages continue to change at the current pace.
Pay equity is more than ensuring that Black women are paid on par with their white male co-workers. In a moment when Black women and our families are facing multiple intersection pandemics--systemic racism, a global health pandemic, a looming economic depression--we have to radically reimagine how we value Black women's labor and ensure that we are centered in our economy. We need a new roadmap that not only values Black women's labor but centers care and cooperation.
At the National Domestic Workers Alliance, we believe that all domestic workers should be protected from abusive conditions in the workplace and have the power to command fair wages and a full complement of labor rights.
We Dream in Black (WeDiB), a project of NDWA, harnesses the collective power and visibility of Black caregivers, nannies and house cleaners, all while working at the intersections of race, gender and class.
WeDiB has spent countless hours listening to and building relationships with hundreds of domestic workers around the country. The result? An innovative Black Workers Agenda that will give power back to the visions of Black women, immigrant women, and low-wage workers--some of the most invisible, essential and unprotected workers in our country.
The campaign rolls out in just a few weeks: sign the pledge now to stand with Black domestic workers and receive an email notification when we launch the new agenda.
2020 is the year for social movements and, much like the Movement for Black Lives and the fight to Defund the Police, Black domestic workers and their supporters are energized and ready to transform the nature of Black domestic work. NDWA is proud to support and sustain those efforts.
We look forward to the work ahead. Join us.
Aimée-Josiane Twagirumukiza
Director of Black Organizing, National Domestic Workers Alliance
This email was sent by the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the nation’s leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States.
