WEBINAR: Direct Care Workers Face Stark Gender and Racial Inequities. How Can We Eliminate Them?

For too long, direct care workers—personal care aides, home health aides, and nursing assistants—have struggled to make ends meet. With median annual wages of $20,300 and hourly wages of about $12, roughly half live around the poverty line and rely on public assistance to get by. 

The pandemic has compounded their precarious situation, with more demanding and stressful workloads and risk of Covid-19 exposure. 

Unsurprisingly, a growing number of direct care jobs are going unfilled and staff turnover rates are staggering. Many leave the field for better paying or less demanding jobs in other sectors. It's a crisis not only for the workers, but for the aging population and the long-term care system. 

How can we eliminate the inequities of this workforce—largely made up of women, people of color, and immigrants—and ensure its stability?

Watch a recording of the webinar to learn:

• the experience of Black women in home health care;
• costs and benefits of making upfront investments in the direct care workforce;
• legislative solutions, from minimum wage requirements to training mandates; and
• who needs a seat at the table, and how to bring them together.

Speakers

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell
12th District of Michigan
U.S. House of Representatives

Henrietta Ivey
Founder
Black Women in Homecare

Robyn Stone
SVP, Research and Co-Director
LeadingAge LTSS Center

Ani Turner, Moderator
Senior Economist 
Altarum