The Onion, It's a Curtain Made of Onions

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It's so revealing of our kind of system for how we value things in society that the person who takes care of our loved one who raised us is about a third of what, say, a personal trainer is paid. Up until the Obama administration, it was perfectly legal to pay a home care worker less than the minimum wage. The history of how this work became devalued in our laws is deeply tied to the history of slavery and racism in our country.

Activist, and MacArthur Genius, Ai-jen Poo believes that caring for others is one of the fundamental acts that make us human. But from nannies to elder-care workers, house cleaners to living assistants, single parents and beyond, globally, caretakers do not earn fair wages or recognition for their essential, life-giving labor. The President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Ai-jen explains how society undervalues domestic work, and provides a framework on how we can start a conversation about the future of care for our loved ones – and ourselves. For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts