As a long-term care worker in California, it’s exciting to see this important activism on the global stage. We’re long overdue for systemic changes to take shape here in the United States. Care workers like myself—an industry that is almost entirely women of color—are some of the most disrespected, unprotected and underpaid workers in the country. Women represent just over 50 percent of our national population.
Even though we play a vital role in caring for some of our most vulnerable individuals, home care workers are constantly excluded from the benefits and protections granted to other American workers. We’re paid poverty wages. Despite the conditions we endure, we barely receive any health benefits, paid sick days or hazard pay.
While I originally became a long-term caregiver because of my father, those in need of long-term care are increasingly women. Long-term care—both at-home care and in nursing homes—is the nation’s fastest-growing job sector, as roughly 10,000 Americans turn 65 each day, and it’s largely women who are filling this critical role in our country’s healthcare system.