Carmel Foster

I came from South Africa 23 years ago, and during apartheid, we didn't really have the same educational opportunities as in America. I started working at the age of [AGE] at a leading bank. Even though I don't have degrees, all my experience comes from what I call recognition of prior learning. I used to be an executive assistant managing CEOs and their lives, but after my divorce, I decided I'd rather clean toilets than be unhealthy, and I've never looked back. Now I advocate for a workforce that is so often misclassified. I founded My Character References LLC in 2019 because I was a domestic worker myself and saw how domestic workers are seen as invisible workers because they work behind closed doors. I started creating tools so that domestic workers can actually market themselves and know that they are the backbone of this economy. I got involved in passing a national domestic workers' bill of rights in 2018. I represent this industry in Washington, D.C., and we had a bill passed to protect these workers. I'm making sure that workers are classified correctly and doing advocacy work in the care economy, as well as labor accountability. I work in the industry myself because I don't think anybody really understands how hard it is for people to take care of other people's lives, cleaning their homes, cooking for them, and as a caregiver. A lot of the women who do this are from different countries, and that doesn't mean they don't have the skills. We are looked at as a lower class of workers, and this is where I come in to represent us and make sure we are heard.