Valeria Vizcaino

Mission-driven professional with experience in community organizing, policy advocacy, and program management for immigrant and refugee communities. Skilled in translating community needs into strategic programs and legislative solutions, with a strong track record in civic engagement and cross-sector collaboration.

• Translated complex legislation into accessible policy briefs and reports that empowered 150+ North Carolina constituents to understand legislative impacts and engage in targeted advocacy.
• Collaborated with policymakers to advance HB1013, successfully introducing state legislation to expand multilingual access and workforce opportunities for immigrant communities.
• Developed civic engagement initiatives reaching 450+ participants, incorporating data analysis and stakeholder feedback to refine outcomes and inform policy recommendations.

Racial and Gender Inequality in the Labor Force: A Comparative Literacy Analysis of Chang, Acker, and Lee

   Racial and gender inequalities are deeply embedded in the structure of American society, particularly within the labor force. Scholars such as Grace Chang, Joan Acker, and Grace Lee recognize the persistence of these inequalities but focus on uncovering the mechanisms that uphold them. Their works—Chang’s Disposable Domestics, Acker’s theory of inequality regimes, and Lee’s documentary American Revolutionary—shed light on different aspects of oppression, including forced migration, organizational practices, and community activism. While each author approaches the issue from a unique angle, their analyses intersect in meaningful ways that illuminate both the evolution and endurance of systemic inequality.

    Grace Chang’s Disposable Domestics investigates how the exploitation of immigrant women of color is perpetuated through labor practices and institutional policies. She challenges the common belief that migration is purely voluntary, instead showing how systemic forces—including government policy, media, and corporate interests—push women into precarious domestic labor. These women, often undocumented, work long hours for low wages while being separated from their own families. Chang argues that this exploitation is not incidental, but rather a carefully maintained system of control designed to benefit both corporations and middle-class households.

    In contrast, Joan Acker’s analysis of inequality in the workplace introduces the concept of “inequality regimes”—defined as “loosely interrelated practices, processes, and meanings that result in and maintain class, gender, and racial inequalities within organizations” (Acker, 2006). Rather than focusing solely on state or corporate structures, Acker examines the everyday, often invisible, practices that shape hiring, wages, and supervisory norms. Acker’s concept of inequality regimes is especially powerful because it captures the fluid and dynamic nature of oppression. She writes, “A key element of this idea is that this regime is fluid and continuously changing depending on the political, cultural, and historical context of the society” (Acker, 2006). This theoretical lens helps explain how patterns of inequality shift over time while continuing to target marginalized groups.

    Although Chang and Acker differ in their focal points—macro-level policy versus micro-level organizational culture—they both emphasize the adaptability of oppressive systems. Historically, labor migration policies like the Bracero Program targeted Latino men for agricultural work, subjecting them to exploitation and eventual exclusion. Today, Chang argues, women have become the primary targets, especially those migrating with children. For example, the proposed “Nanny Visa” would have allowed immigrant women to work temporarily in caregiving roles without receiving full labor rights or benefits (Chang, 2016). This reflects how inequality regimes evolve to exploit new populations, reinforcing racial and gender hierarchies through changing but coordinated institutional practices.

    Chang also critiques the role of media and political rhetoric in shaping public perceptions. Immigrant women are often portrayed as “welfare abusers,” a narrative that fuels anti-immigration sentiment and reinforces harmful stereotypes. This framing mirrors older tropes used against African Americans, such as the “welfare queen” stereotype, which paints marginalized groups as dependent and unworthy. These narratives divide communities and prevent solidarity between immigrants and African Americans, maintaining racial hierarchies through distrust and division.

While Acker identifies how traditional gender roles disadvantage women in the workplace—for example, viewing motherhood as a distraction—she stops short of addressing how middle- and upper-class women benefit from the exploitation of poorer women. Chang fills this gap by highlighting the way some women advance professionally by hiring immigrant domestic workers, often under exploitative conditions. These dynamics illustrate how race, class, and immigration status create hierarchies even within groups of women.

    Grace Lee’s documentary American Revolutionary complements these analyses by highlighting the activist legacy of Grace Lee Boggs. Influenced by Hegelian and Marxist thought, Boggs believed that reality is constantly evolving and requires individuals to adapt their thinking accordingly. “As reality changes, you have to change with it,” she states (Lee, 2013). This philosophy aligns with Acker’s emphasis on the fluidity of inequality regimes and Chang’s focus on how institutional oppression shifts over time.

     Boggs also believed in the transformative power of collective action. During the 1960s, she helped organize the African American population in Detroit to demand political and social change. Her assertion that “if you mobilize a mass action you can change the world” (Lee, 2013) resonates with Chang’s portrayal of immigrant women as a powerful force within the modern labor movement. Chang writes, “Immigrant women workers pose a formidable force in today’s labor movement... they have little to fear and much to gain in fighting against the daily assaults on their lives, families, and rights” (Chang, 2016). Acker echoes this sentiment when she argues that broad social movements are essential to disrupting inequality regimes: “A major impediment to change in inequality regimes is the absence of broad social movements, outside organizations agitating for change” (Acker, 2006).

    In conclusion, while Chang, Acker, and Lee approach racial and gender inequality from different perspectives—policy, workplace dynamics, and activism—they each reveal how these systems are not static but adaptable. Chang’s in-depth look at immigrant women’s labor, Acker’s theory of fluid inequality regimes, and Lee’s focus on political consciousness and collective action all converge on the idea that systemic inequality persists by evolving with cultural and historical shifts. Together, their work underscores the importance of both analysis and activism in challenging and ultimately dismantling systems of oppression.

References

Acker, Joan. (2006). Inequality Regimes. Gender & Society, 20(4), 441–464.

Chang, Grace. (2016). Disposable Domestics: Immigrant Women Workers in the Global Economy. Haymarket Books.

Lee, Grace. (Director). (2013). American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs [Film]. Cherry Sky Pictures.