Gendered Jobs and Gendered Pay: The Relationship Between Sexism, Racism, and Ableism, and Personal Care Aide Wages

Abstract

There is currently a personal care staffing crisis in the United States, with astronomical turnover, largely due to low wages. How attitudes may trickle down to impact funding decisions and personal care aide wages is unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between ableism, racism, and sexism, and states’ personal care aide wages in the United States. We analyzed data about personal care aide wages, and prejudice data from 4.7 million people. Findings revealed a significant relationship between sexism and personal care aide wages – the higher a states’ sexism, the lower their personal care aide wage; this finding was consistent regardless of the state’s size, wealth, prevalence of the occupation, political leanings, or ableism or racism scores. Regardless of the strategies utilized to stabilize and grow the profession of personal care aides, it is important to examine the role sexism may play.

Keywords

• personal care aides
• direct support professionals
• workforce issues
• sexism
• wages