Care Work and the
Racial Wealth Gap
Care work has forever been critical to the health and basic functioning of
our society. However, as we detailed in our September 2022 report, Care Work in Massachusetts: A Call for Racial and
Economic Justice for a Neglected Sector,
long histories of racial prejudice and gender discrimination have led to a
systematic devaluation of these jobs. Poor working conditions and low wages
for care workers have profound consequences not just on employee retention
or the immediate economic security of care workers, but also the long-term
wealth accumulation for care workers and their families.
So, in partnership with SkillWorks, today we are releasing this new
research brief, Care Work and the Racial Wealth Gap, to look more closely at how our undervaluation of
care work makes it harder for these workers to accumulate assets over time
and contributes to the racial wealth gap.
On top of receiving low wages, for instance, care workers are also less
likely to receive basic employment benefits like affordable health
insurance or retirement plans. In Massachusetts, care workers are far less
likely to receive employer-provided health insurance, leaving them more
reliant on MassHealth (the state’s Medicaid program), as shown in the graph
below.
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