Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th Represents Summit

Don’t miss our biggest event of 2023!

Register Today

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Ai-jen Poo
"Taking care of our children, our aging parents and our homes is hard, vital work." Courtesy of National Domestic Workers Alliance

Coronavirus

Domestic workers become “even more essential” in times of crisis

A Q&A with Ai-jen Poo, the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

Errin Haines

Editor-at-large

Errin Haines portrait

Published

2020-03-20 13:16
1:16
March 20, 2020
pm

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Covid-19 will impact millions of women, particularly women of color and women in low-income jobs, whether they contract the virus or not. Ai-jen Poo, the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, recently wrote an op-ed for The New York Times imploring employers and the government to protect caregivers, who are often on the frontlines of disaster and don’t have the same protections as other full-time workers. 

The 19th spoke to her about who these caregivers are, how they are being affected by the virus and what can be done to help them during this crisis. 

The 19th: A key takeaway from your op-ed is that we should take care of the people who take care of us. Who are we talking about and what does that look like?

There are millions of domestic workers — mostly women and women of color — who work in our homes providing caregiving and cleaning services. Taking care of our children, our aging parents and our homes is hard, vital work. In times of crisis like the moment we are in, it’s even more essential.

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

We need nannies to support the emergency room doctors and health care professionals with child care. We need house cleaners to help disinfect our homes. We need home care workers to provide life-saving services to older people and people with chronic illnesses.

Most domestic workers do not have health care, paid sick days, paid time off or job security. And most are primary income earners for their families. The wages they earn mean they live paycheck to paycheck, so there’s no savings to rely on either. 

We know that women are going to be disproportionately impacted by this pandemic, whether they get sick or not. Talk about some of the unforeseen consequences for the women you represent that you’re thinking about in the midst of this crisis. 

The women we represent at the National Domestic Workers Alliance are hearing that they should stay home, but that is an impossible choice for most. Domestic work cannot be done remotely. And most don’t have paid time off, so they cannot afford to stay home. They are worried about how they will put food on the table for their children or keep the lights on. They are also deeply concerned about the families they care for.

We’ve heard stories of domestic workers being quarantined with the families they work for and unable to return to their own families because someone in the household where they work has symptoms. We’ve heard that people are losing work and unsure when they will receive their next paycheck, with no savings to draw from. We’ve heard people being forced to stay at work to keep their jobs and sign releases if they become sick. And many domestic workers are older women themselves, so highly vulnerable to infection, with limited access to health care.

What can government and concerned members of this society do to mitigate some of that? 

In terms of policy, taking care of them means making sure home care workers are classified as essential personnel in this crisis so they are prioritized for protective equipment, testing and treatment. It means ensuring that emergency sick days and paid leave proposals are fully inclusive of this workforce, which is too often excluded from the protections they desperately need.

If you employ someone in your home and you are able, offer paid time off. Have a conversation with them about what they need, and encourage them to reach out to NDWA, which is creating and updating information and resources that will help them navigate this crisis. Also, donate to the Coronavirus Care Fund, to support our ability to provide emergency assistance to domestic workers in need. 

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th Represents Summit

Don’t miss our biggest event of 2023!

Register Today

Become a member

From the Collection

Pandemic Within a Pandemic

Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
  • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

    Orion Rummler · November 23
  • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

    Mariel Padilla · September 22
  • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

    Candice Norwood · August 17

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram