Episode 73: A Nanny Speaks Up
/“This is real work. Domestic workers make every work possible. If we don’t go to work employers can’t go to their jobs. Don’t we deserve respect? Don’t we deserve to not feel like slaves?”
“Professional women need somebody to look after the house...but people don’t like to think about it. I think women find it more uncomfortable to think about than men because so many of these people are women.”
Jennifer bernard
Alison Wolf's book has a provocative sub-title: How the Rise of Working Women Has Created a Far Less Equal World. For a long time I've been wanting to do a show on race and class, and to focus on the women who make the lives of modern professionals run smoothly. First I talk to Alison, a professor at King's College London and a labor market expert. Then we spend the rest of the show with Jennifer Bernard, a Trinidad-born, New York-based nanny. We hear about the unequal work environment that is the home, how she began to gain confidence on the job, and what makes her feel successful.
You can also read a transcript of the show.
This episode of The Broad Experience is sponsored by Foreign Affairs magazine. Go to ForeignAffairs.com/broad for more than three-quarters off a yearly subscription.
Thanks to Foreign Affairs for supporting the podcast for a second year running.
Alison Wolf
Further reading: Alison Wolf's book is The XX Factor: How the Rise of Working Women Has Created a Far Less Equal World.
Jennifer is a member of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
From the Guardian: Hurrah for Female Bosses, but Let's Not Forget their Cleaners.
From the New York Times: A Living Wage for Caregivers.
