Domestic Worker Leadership Programs
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NDWA centers the leadership of women of color in everything we do.
NDWA centers the leadership of women of color in everything we do.
Our leadership programs cultivate and train new leaders for our movement, and amplify the voices of domestic workers. As our nation’s demographics and economy continue to change, public policy gains that improve life for domestic workers, women of color and low-wage workers will be increasingly important.
It is imperative our movement is led by the true experts in this field: domestic workers themselves.
Domestic workers are elected to serve on the Board of Directors — NDWA’s highest governing body — and the National Worker Councils, NDWA’s committees of industry experts who help shape the alliance’s strategies for raising standards in their fields. More than 50 domestic worker leaders from around the country serve 2-year terms in these roles.
Join thousands of nannies,
housecleaners and home care workers just like you.
We Make History is a curriculum for domestic workers to learn about the domestic worker movement in the US and strengthen our organizing to build power together. Domestic workers in affiliates and chapters across the Alliance are using the curriculum to learn about this history and develop a shared analysis of the sector and our strategies to transform it. The curriculum is centered around the interactive timeline A History of Domestic Work and Worker Organizing and was designed by NDWA in collaboration with activist scholars from Smith College. Check out the timeline and for more information about the curriculum, please contact [email protected].
Hundreds of domestic workers and domestic worker organizers have graduated from NDWA’s deep leadership programs, including the Strategy Organizing Leadership program and the Dignity Unity Power Institute. Our leadership courses are a space for participants to deepen their organizing skills while engaging in transformative practices to heal from trauma and build strong, sustainable organizations.
The Dorothy Bolden Fellowship is a program inspired by Ai-jen Poo’s MacArthur Foundation Fellowship award in 2014. The MacArthur Fellowship award was a tremendous honor, recognizing the important role domestic workers and caregivers play in shaping the growing movement for equity and democracy in America. The funds from the MacArthur Fellowship helped launch the program and were used to support the continuous development of our first two cohorts of domestic worker leaders through intensive internships and leadership positions at the national level.