Newshour: Low Wage Jobs

A news segment covering the low wage jobs that many women find themselves stuck in, and the fight to enact change. The report includes personal stories from women working low-income jobs, details on the Working Women for Change initiative, and counter arguments from business representatives about the feasibility of higher wages.

0:05Copy video clip URL Title card

0:15Copy video clip URL Elizabeth Brackett leads off the segment with a voice-over explaining the difficult situation many working women face: trapped in a job that doesn’t pay enough to support their family. She introduces Anne Ladky, speaks more about the issue.

1:00Copy video clip URL Introduction to Marie Griese, a hard-working mother. Griese shares her regret at not being able to spend enough time with her daughter.

1:56Copy video clip URL Profile of Sharon Lewis, a home healthcare aid. She talks about her lack of health insurance and the difficulties of getting a babysitter for her children.

2:45Copy video clip URL Ladky shares that situations like Lewis’ are not at all unusual.

3:13Copy video clip URL Brackett gives more details about common fields that many women are stuck working in, and points out that even female college graduates tend to make less than their male counterparts. She gives the particulars of an initiative Ladky started, Working Women for Change.

3:56Copy video clip URL Bridget Gainer, a part of the initiative, expounds upon their goals and strategies.

4:58Copy video clip URL David Vite explains why the goals of the Women’s initiative are hard for retailers to reach.

6:02Copy video clip URL Affirmation of Vite’s assertions from Nik Theodore.

6:29Copy video clip URL Profile of Hasime Hashimi. She talks about the difficulties of her job and the challenges that would face her if she decided to look for work elsewhere.

7:50Copy video clip URL Evelyn Diaz talks about steps that the city of Chicago will take to find solutions to the problem, including a job quality summit.

8:46Copy video clip URL Examples of companies who are doing right by their employees. Debra Heberling, a training manager with one of these companies, explains why their model works. Vite claims that this model only works for particular, niche companies. Brackett closes out the segment.

10:10Copy video clip URL End