Spotlighting Domestic Workers Representation in Film & TV

Introduction

Domestic work is the work that makes all other work possible.
Within our homes, we care for loved ones, and receive care ourselves. We care for our belongings and  create a space for respite.  

There are more than 2 million domestic workers in the United States. These are the nannies that take  care of our children, the housecleaners that bring order to our homes, and the care workers for seniors  and individuals with disabilities, who ensure our loved ones can live with dignity. Despite doing the  work that enables our society to function and our families to thrive, domestic workers are often the  least valued. Their work is done behind closed doors, their contributions, humanity and struggles  hidden from view.  

Alfonso Cuarón during his Best Director Academy Award winning acceptance speech for Roma, a  tremendous film about an indigenous domestic worker Cleo said: “As artists, our job is to look where  others don’t.” Yet for far too long, the entertainment industry has either overlooked domestic workers  or depicted them as one dimensional characters without agency, and frequently steeped in harmful  stereotypes rooted in racism, sexism, and classism.  

Telling authentic and complex stories of historically underrepresented communities has never  been more important. Domestic workers are on the cutting edge of the most pressing social issues  of our time – from immigration, to labor rights, to gender and racial justice. Our objective for commissioning and releasing this report is to establish a baseline for domestic workers on screen – where they are, where they aren’t, their representation, and the substance of that representation. We hope this report will  start conversations – on the history of domestic workers on screen, the real world impacts of that  representation, and inspire new stories in film & TV that depict domestic workers as the heroines they  are.  

Rachel Birnam, Cultural and Entertainment Partnerships Manager &
Kristina Mevs-Apgar, Culture Change Director