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The vast majority of domestic industry workers are women, and they suffer the highest levels of poverty across the three industries studied (domestic, retail and restaurant). Women of color are increasingly over-represented but hold mostly lower paid positions, while white women hold the majority of higher paid positions.
These unfair results aren’t natural, and they aren’t inevitable. We have the power to collectively create good jobs for all workers by supporting fair work practices. *
LEVEL OF POVERTY
Key Takeaways
- For more than 30 years, women of color consistently have had the highest poverty levels in the domestic industry, with one in five living in poverty.
- Poverty in the Domestic Industry is a major problem for all workers. For the 2012 totals, we see high percentages of poverty:
- 26.7% of women of color domestic workers live below the poverty level
- 21.2% of white women domestic workers live below the poverty level
- 17% of men of color domestic workers live below the poverty level
- 14.9% of white men domestic workers live below the poverty level
Discover more by playing with the chart below.
What am I Looking At?
- More red means more poverty
Leading Questions?
Q: When looking at the overall industry, what do you notice when clicking on the tab for women? (Click to see answer.)
A: Lower levels of poverty for white women than women of color across the industry.
RACE, GENDER, AND OCCUPATION
Key Takeaways
- Women of color have become increasingly overrepresented in the domestic industry compared to white women, but the two groups occupy positions with different wage profiles and conditions.
- White women hold the majority of higher paid positions (childcare workers), while women of color hold mostly lower paid positions (housekeepers). For more information, please see the National Domestic Workers Alliance report, Home Economics: The Invisible and Unregulated World of Domestic Work.
Discover more by playing with the chart below.
Select Gender
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What am I Looking At?
- The closer the two lines, the more equally people of color and white people are represented nationally across the industry or occupation
- When the red line gets higher, the percentage of men or women of color in the industry/occupation is rising.
Leading Question?
Q: Compared to white women, women of color have consistently been a majority in which domestic industry occupation? (Click to see answer.)
A: housekeeper
Worker Voices
What do you think is the general public’s perception of a worker in the restaurant industry?
There are lots and lots of challenges from, pay, I think is most important, their pay. Along with a lack of respect for the work that they provide, which is monumental. I mean you are in people’s homes and you’re taking care of children and you’re providing services that are very personal, so it’s a very important job, which I don’t think a lot of people understand because they’ve never done it before.
Terry - 60 - Atlanta
...You are in people’s homes and you’re taking care of children and you’re providing services that are very personal, so it’s a very important job...
Hear the Whole Story
Terry
60
Atlanta
INCOME
Key Takeaways
- Consistently across the years, more than 90% of women of color housekeepers have been paid less than $30,000/year, and an overwhelming majority of women of color in 2012 made less than $15,000/year.
- Despite being an occupation with more women, in 2010 for the total population, only 0.6% of women of color made over $75,000 compared with 6.2% of white males.
Discover more by playing with the chart below.
Select Year
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Switch to Raw Numbers
Correction: Previous versions of the Clocking-In website mislabeled the income data in the figure above. All other text and figures on this page were accurately presented. Please email us here with any questions/concerns. (Effective July 14, 2015 - 9:00pm EST.)
What am I Looking At?
- In percentage view:
- More red/orange = wages are lower
- Less red/orange = wages are higher
- When viewing years (1980-2012):
- If the bars are moving to the right, wages are decreasing;
- If the bars are moving to the left, wages are increasing.
Leading Questions?
Q: When you click the raw numbers tab, what is the largest group to make less than $15,000/year in 2012? (Click to see answer.)
A: Women of color housekeepers
Worker Voices
What is your ideal reality, or how would you like to see the experience of workers in the restaurant industry change?
I’d like for them to be taken more seriously. That this is a serious job, it is a real job. It is a job that a lot of people take. And it’s not just to be taken lightly. We’ve got feelings, we have emotions. We are working hard and long hours for low pay. You know, we want to just have that respect.
Jacqueline - 43 - Atlanta
We are working hard and long hours for low pay. You know, we want to just have that respect.
Hear the Whole Story
Jacqueline
43
Atlanta