Day 4 Theme: The intersection of white supremacy and patriarchy

American capitalism is billed as a system that affords anyone who is willing to work hard the opportunity to build wealth and enjoy a high quality of life. The reality, however, is that millions of Americans work long hours for low pay and under difficult conditions. These jobs lacking benefits, safety, employment security and family-supporting wages are disproportionately done by people of color, particularly women. It is their labor, concentrated in the service sector, that has made it possible for White families to pursue more lucrative opportunities and accumulate intergenerational wealth. We invite you to read the following articles below and reflect on how racism, sexism and xenophobia intersect to exploit women of color and keep them from enjoying their fair share of the wealth generated by their labor. Linked below are several resources.

- Capitalism is Built on the Backs of Black Women

- The Wage Gap is Even Worse for Native Women

- Study documents Latina domestic workers’ economic hardship

-Article highlights Half of Pierce County Homeless Population are People of Color

We also urge you to examine how racism is manifested in acts of gender violence and society’s response to those acts. The Catalyst article below explains how sexual predators and the dominant society exploit sexualized stereotypes of women and girls of color to excuse or justify continued crimes against them.

Today, the rate of sexual assault of Native women is more than twice the national average. While perpetrators of sexual assault are generally the same race as their victims, non-Native men are responsible for the majority of assaults of Native women. Furthermore, as the article from Indian Law Resource Center linked below explains, U.S. law restricts the authority of Indian nations to prosecute non-Native people for crimes they commit on reservations.

Reflect & Respond:

What steps can you take within your organization, and in your personal life, to further the goals of equity in the workforce, specifically for women of color? What connections do you see between racism evident in both gender violence & wage gaps?