Ai-jen Poo

In this conversation, Ai-jen Poo, a prominent labor organizer and author specializing in elder care and workers' rights, discusses the pressing challenges of aging in America. She highlights the burdens on unpaid family caregivers amid a growing aging population. Poo advocates for better support systems and explores innovative care models, such as intergenerational daycare facilities. The dialogue emphasizes the need to redefine aging as a gift and the crucial role of community in enhancing caregiver and elder experiences.

Ai-jen Poo, an advocate for caregivers, discusses the challenges faced by caregivers, the impact of sexism and racism on caregivers, the devaluation of domestic labor, the importance of living while caregiving, the value of care squads, the need for affordable quality childcare, and the significance of care in society.

The visionary, next-generation organizer Ai-jen Poo says this of Tarana Burke: “There are just so many layers of hope that she brings to the world and to people like me, to survivors, to all kinds of communities.” Ai-jen and Tarana are the conversation partners for this episode of The Future of Hope. And what a conversation it is. We listen in on a brilliant friendship that has powered and sustained two extraordinary women who are leading defining movements of this generation that call us to our highest humanity. Ai-jen has been long ahead of a cultural curve we are all on now — of seeing the urgent calling to update and transform not just how we value the caregiving workforce of millions, but how we value care itself as a society. Tarana founded the ‘me too.’ Movement. What you are about to hear is intimate, revelatory, and rooted in trust and care. It’s also an invitation to all of us, to imagine and build a more graceful way to remake the world.Ai-jen Poo co-founded and leads The National Domestic Workers Alliance, is the director of Caring Across Generations, and co-founder of Supermajority. Among her countless awards, she was a 2014 MacArthur Fellow. She’s the author of The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America. Her previous conversation with Krista is “This Is Our (Caring) Revolution” — find it at onbeing.org and in your podcast feed. Tarana Burke has been organizing within issues facing Black women and girls for over three decades. Her many accolades include the 2019 Sydney Peace Prize and the Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award from Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership. She’s the author of Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org. 

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/BHTranscriptsFor the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscriptsFor a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch.Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:TEDNext: ted.com/futureyou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ai-jen Poo, President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, passionately advocates for fair treatment of caregivers. She highlights the invisible labor of caretaking, emphasizing its emotional and practical challenges. Poo shares personal stories illustrating the importance of collective care solutions and the need for societal support systems. She also underscores the essential role caregivers play in our lives and discusses the necessity for systemic changes to recognize their vital contributions, particularly for immigrant workers.