The Atlantic

Low-Skill Workers Aren’t a Problem to Be Fixed

The label “low-skill” flattens workers to a single attribute, ignoring the capacities they have and devaluing the jobs they do.

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economy

business

Takeaways

The term low-skill as we use it is often derogatory, a socially sanctioned slur Davos types casually lob at millions of American workers, disproportionately Black and Latino, immigrant, and low-income workers.

The low-skill label flattens workers to a single attribute, ignoring the capacities they have and devaluing the work they do. It pathologizes them, portraying low-skill workers as a problem to be fixed

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