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Ai-Jen Poo

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Biography

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Ai-Jen Poo's Taiwanese-American parents instilled her with strong "social justice values". Her father Mu-ming Poo[1] is a neuroscientist and one-time political activist who immigrated from Taiwan in the 1970s. Her mother Wen-jen Hwu[1] has a PhD in chemistry as well as an MD, and was an oncologist at two of the top cancer centers in the nation.[2][3][4] She was born in Pittsburgh,[5] and graduated from Phillips Academy in 1992[6]. Ai-Jen attended Columbia University, where she was one of more than 100 students who occupied the rotunda in Low Library; this occupation led to the creation of Columbia’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race.[7] During her time at Columbia University, she also volunteered at an Asian immigrant women's domestic violence shelter[8].

Ai-Jen Poo's interest in the plight of domestic workers came as a result of personal experiences with familial care. After seeing her ailing grandfather put in a long term care facility, Poo witnessed first-hand the pain and difficulty associated with caring for a sick loved one, and the value, as well as the struggles, of caregivers[9]. Ai-Jen's interest in domestic labor was also sparked by the high number of female domestic workers involved in the industry, and the problems that arise from domestic work [10].

She attended the 75th Golden Globe Awards in 2018 as a guest of Meryl Streep.[11]

Accomplishments

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Work with Domestic Labor

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Ai-jen Poo began organizing domestic workers in 1996, with CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities. She is the founder and former lead organizer of Domestic Workers United (DWU), an organization of Caribbean, Latina, and African nannies, housekeepers, and elderly caregivers in New York that organizes for "power, respect, and fair labor standards".

DWU helped to organize the first national meeting of domestic worker organizations at the US Social Forum in 2007, which resulted in the formation of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) that year as an organization that advocates for and represents domestic workers in the United States[12]. She has been NDWA’s director since April 2010.

In 2010, Domestic Workers United was instrumental in New York state passing the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights into law; this law was the first in the United States to guarantee domestic workers basic labor protections such as overtime pay, three days’ paid leave, and legal protections from harassment and discrimination. The bill passed in part due to its unique organizing model, in which domestic workers, their employers, and the children under the care of domestic workers mobilized en masse in a Children and Families March in support of the cause[10][7]. Through the efforts of the NDWA, similar initiatives in Hawaii and California have also been successful[9]. As of 2019, nine states and the city of Seattle have passed laws granting domestic workers labor protections under Domestic Workers Bill of Rights legislation[13].

Under the leadership of Ai-Jen Poo, the National Domestic Workers Alliance has also lobbied at the federal level. In 2016, the NDWA lobbied the Supreme Court to decline to hear the case Home Care Associations of America v. Weil, a suit which would have brought into question whether domestic health aides should be granted overtime protections and a minimum wage. The organization has also successfully campaigned for the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act in Congress[9]. In July of 2019, the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act, a similar piece of proposed legislation, was introduced in the US House of Representatives and the Senate thanks to the lobbying efforts of NDWA[14]

In 2011, Ai-jen Poo helped launch Caring Across Generations. With Caring Across Generations, Ai-Jen has worked to campaign for improved care for aging populations, as well as better employment opportunities and conditions for caregivers. Through the organization, Ai-Jen Poo has supported the advancement of nationalized training guidelines for caregivers[10]. Additionally, Caring Across Generations has had success in policy change across the United States. In Hawaii, the organization played a role in establishing benefits and support structures for familial caregivers, the first of its kind in the nation. Similarly, in Washington, the efforts of Caring Across Generations led to the establishment of the first social insurance fund intended for situations of long-term care[15].

Work with Women's Movement

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In 2016, Ai-Jen Poo founded Care In Action with other influential activists, and now serves as its Senior Advisor. As a nonprofit not affiliated with any political party, Care In Action aims to support and train domestic workers, while serving as an advocate for their rights and political representation[16]. Care In Action recognizes that the majority of domestic workers in the United States are women, and fights especially for the civic inclusion of women of color[15].

In 2019, Ai-Jen Poo helped co-found Supermajority, along with Cecile Richards and Alicia Garza. The organization will serve to educate and prepare women on key issues affecting women, so they can act as leaders, advocates, and organizers in their communities. Supermajority also aims to address the disparity of women's participation in elections, both as politicians and as activists[17].

Ai-Jen has also played a role in the #MeToo movement[18]. Poo attended the 2018 Golden Globe Awards as an activist guest of Meryl Streep to shed light on the #TimesUp movement, and penned an article on the movement and its relation to domestic workers[19].

Awards and Accolades

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Ai-Jen Poo has been presented with many awards for her work as an activist and organizer. She has received the Open Society Institute Community Fellowship, the Union Square Award, the Leadership for a Changing World Award, the Ernest de Maio Award from the Labor Research Association, the Woman of Vision Award from Ms. Foundation for Women, the Alston Bannerman Fellowship for Organizers of Color, the Twink Frey Visiting Scholar Fellowship at University of Michigan Center for the Education of Women, and the Prime Movers Fellowship.

In honor of the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day, Ai-jen was recognized by Women Deliver as one of 100 women internationally who are "delivering" for other women. In 2009 she was named one of Crain's "40 Under 40" and New York Moves Magazine's "Power Women". In 2010, the Feminist Press recognized her in their "40 Under 40" awards. In 2011 she was named one of Yes!'s Breakthrough 15, and received the Independent Sector's American Express NGen Leadership Award. In 2012, she was named one of the Time 100 in Time magazine, as well as one of Newsweek's "150 Women Who Shake the World". In September 2014, she was one of 21 awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant, the so-called "MacArthur genius grants". Poo was recognized as one of the World's 50 Greatest leaders in 2015 by Fortune.com. In 2015 and 2016, she was also placed on the NonProfit Times & Influence Top 50 list.[20] In 2019, Ai-jen was granted the 2019 Distinguished Leader in Feminism Award by the Center for the Study of Women at the University of California, Los Angeles[21].

In 2017, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The New School. Poo also holds an honorary degree from the City University of New York, as well as an honorary degree from Smith College [12][22]

Poo has spoken at several major conferences, including TED Talks, the United State of Women Summits, the Obama Foundation Summit, Aspen Ideas festivals, and the 2018 Women's Convention, as well as commencement ceremonies and other speaking engagements[18].

Written Work

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Ai-Jen has written for The Huffington Post, the Guardian, the New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, and CNN.com, amongst other publications[18].  

  1. ^ a b Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (24 October 2016). American Women Speak: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection of Women's Oratory. ABC-CLIO. pp. 572–4. ISBN 978-1-4408-3785-2.
  2. ^ "The Age of Dignity". NPR.org. 29 January 2015.
  3. ^ Ai-jen Poo '92 named to list of 100 most influential people in the world Archived 2012-05-12 at the Wayback Machine, Phillips Academy
  4. ^ Ai-jen Poo, Community Organizer, Public Affairs Television, Inc.
  5. ^ "Why I'm Walking 100 Miles to See Pope Francis". Time.com. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  6. ^ Andover (2019-10-15). "Ai-jen Poo '92". Andover. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  7. ^ a b Engler, Mark. "The YES! Breakthrough 15: Ai-jen Poo — YES! Magazine — YES! Magazine". Yesmagazine.org. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  8. ^ "Take Five with Ai-jen Poo '96". Columbia College Today. 2017-12-15. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  9. ^ a b c Newton-Small, Jay. "Ai-Jen Poo Wants to Make You See Invisible People". TIME.com. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  10. ^ a b c "Ai-jen Poo". Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  11. ^ CNWN Collection. "Golden Globes 2018: How to Support the Activists' Causes". Allure. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  12. ^ a b "Ai-jen Poo". Ford Foundation. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  13. ^ Campbell, Alexia Fernández (2019-07-15). "Kamala Harris just introduced a bill to give housekeepers overtime pay and meal breaks". Vox. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  14. ^ Campbell, Alexia Fernández (2019-07-15). "Kamala Harris just introduced a bill to give housekeepers overtime pay and meal breaks". Vox. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  15. ^ a b "Ai-jen Poo | National Domestic Workers Alliance". www.domesticworkers.org. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  16. ^ "About Us". CARE IN ACTION. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  17. ^ Salam, Maya (2019-04-30). "A 'Women's New Deal'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  18. ^ a b c Poo, Ai-jen. "Ai-jen Poo | Speaker | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  19. ^ Poo, Ai-jen (2018-01-10). "I Was Meryl Streep's "Plus One" at the Golden Globes". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  20. ^ "Ai-jen Poo". Independent Sector. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  21. ^ aapolloni (2019-05-10). "Care and Vision: The Transformative Feminism of Ai-jen Poo". Center for the Study of Women. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  22. ^ "Ai-jen Poo Will Deliver Commencement Address". Smith College. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
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