Structural barriers are systemic challenges embedded in our culture, economy, and institutions that cause inequality. Produced by systems of power, they require large-scale investment and policy solutions to achieve meaningful change. CLASP conducted focus groups with young women of color to learn what structural barriers they encounter in daily life. This fact sheet includes insights from Latina and Native young women about their experiences with low-wage work. Uprooting low-wage work and other structural barriers demands turning over the ground to reveal these root causes, partnering with young women of color to identify solutions, and seeding change in equitable ground.

This fact sheet—written by Marlén Mendoza, Nia-West Bey, and Whitney Bunts—focuses on low-wage work.