3.06 Jobs
backIn the USA there are 75 million men and 58 million women working. Women earn 16% less than men, even doing the same job. Women of color are the lowest-paid workers. More women than men have higher education, such as a college degree.
In India there are 380 million working men, and 185 million working women. Women often work both at their workplace and at home.
Madden’s story
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I wake up at 5 a.m. everyday to make breakfast and lunch, I wash clothes and then start my work at 8 a.m. I go to many houses to wash their plates and spoons, and clean the floor.
Every house has its own way of cleaning and I have to do it that way. Once done, I go back home to make lunch and then again start my work as a housekeeper. I make around 10k rupees per month. I don't know how to read or write. My mother-in-law says I can’t cook tasty food. My husband says I am slow at everything. In the evenings, after work, I go back home to do the cooking for dinner. I do the same on Saturdays and Sundays, I don’t have a day off. I have 2 kids. They live with my parents, because the schooling is cheaper in the village. I don’t have the money to send them to schools in Bangalore. However I am strong, I am looking after my family by working and being away from them, day and night. |
Laurier’s story
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I am well learned, I have a good job, earn well, too, but I also have to look after my family. I clean the house, get fresh clothes and put cooked food on the table.
Even though I have a washing machine to wash clothes, I still have to manage everything myself. I do the shopping, cook in the mornings before work, and again, when I come back. I am an engineer, and I have to do my job well, building houses is not an easy job. I have two kids who go to an expensive school, so I don’t have to study with them in the evenings. The good thing is, I don’t work on weekends, so I have time to spend with my children. |