Sadly, in the US, immigrant workers are mistreated and taken advantage of daily. Women, especially who work picking crops and in service industries as maids and in home health care, are often sexually assaulted as well. This book details the abuses that immigrant women suffer and the movement to bring attention to and end that abuse. The book is eye opening and rather horrifying. In one study, it was found that "one third of the men interviewed said that they would probably force a woman into sex acts if they knew they wouldn't get caught." A latter study showed that "male attraction to sexual violence is more common than most people had previously realized." It was also found that this male sexual violence can be turned aside if other men speak out about it rather than joining in or ignoring it.
Because many brave women have spoken out, there are now education and support groups to help stop sexual violence in the workplace and laws that punish companies who don't fire the men who are rapists and sexually abusive.
This book is an excellent resource and is quite eye opening. I highly recommend it.

I deeply appreciated the opportunity to read and review this book. I'll be using it's contents in my teaching and will make sure to keep an eye out for more works from this author and publisher.

such an important book with a sadly still why to common and current topic and issue!
it’s a frustrating read in the way that those poor women can’t do their hard jobs without even harasses and it’s horrible to read about what some of them had to go through simply while doing their jobs!

defiantly worth a read, especially if your an american!

A very important book on fight against harassment by the unprivileged working classes in USA........

This nonfiction work was my first through Netgalley. I did enjoy the material that was covered. I learned more about women in low paying labor jobs. The sexual harassment and assault that takes place was horrendous. The only issue I had with this book was that I often lost focus on who the speaker was discussing. The names of each women (Hispanic cleaners, reporters, and investigators) often ran together and I forgot who she was discussing.

Good book on sexual harassment in the workplace. Especially against minorities and lower paid workers. Gives one a lot to think about. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

This book was heartbreaking to read, as I couldn't help but feel for the poor women the author wrote about. The author discusses how prevalent sexual assault is in the workplace of undocumented workers due to the fact that it is impossible for them to file complaints due to their illegal immigration status. These women put up with the abuse due to the financial obligations they have. I cannot imagine the strength it takes these women to go to work each day knowing that they are going to be assaulted and have to accept it.

An amazing and emotional look at the lives of workers across the country and their fight again sexual harassment in the work place. I loved how the author looked at different facets and even had a chapter about the history of sexual harassment in the work place when she talked about Anita Hill. Overall a great story and one that needs to be told.

This was a very difficult read (emotionally) about the complex web of challenges surrounding sexual assault among specific populations in the United States - custodial and farm/seasonal workers. Many either don't know their rights or are undocumented and can't pursue legal action, all really need the money and are taken advantage of at much higher rates than the rest of the population. Bernice Yeung has been researching and writing about this topic for years now, and includes in here some personal stories, some legal battles (most of them frustratingly not helping these workers), and strides some organizations have made in some key states.

There is still so much work left to do.

I think of the national attention to human trafficking (just try to use a stall at the Atlanta airport without seeing information!) and I'm super supportive of that. But this seems like an even greater number of people who are at risk for sexual violence. Some in this book, unfortunately, have been victims of both.

I remember doing research on migrant workers and housing policies in my area of Oregon as a high schooler, and how much effort that took, but how much those efforts paid off in the end. It was like they had to push and pursue legal action until it reached a tipping point, and people employing migrant workers had to make changes because they were no longer protected from having to follow the rules. That's what needs to happen here, but it seems like it will take an inordinate amount of effort. I'm not sure I'm encouraged. It feels pretty bleak, but we must.

Back in 2016 I was walking through the Capitol gardens in Sacramento when I came across a tent with a sign saying ¡Ya basta! on it, and groups of women hanging out in the shade, wearing purple t-shirts. Always looking for something to write about, especially when it comes to abuse and/or mistreatment of immigrants, I went to talk to the organizers, and wrote about the movement later that week. What I was actually witnessing was the last few days of a hunger strike before Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that would help protect janitorial assistants from sexual harassment in the workplace. I then watched Rape on the Nightshift, a PBS documentary on exactly what the title describes, and was appalled by how bad sexual harassment and assault actually is in areas where the women are usually too afraid to come forward.

With In A Day’s Work: The Fight to End Sexual Violence Against America’s Most Vulnerable Workers Bernice Yeung provides us with an excellent piece of investigative journalism into the depths of sexual harassment in the workplace in areas where mainly immigrants are hired (as farmworkers, domestic workers, or janitorial assistants). It’s in these exact areas that people are continuing to fight tooth and nail for better working conditions and pay, so it’s not difficult to imagine that with the added stressors of being an immigrant (undocumented or not), not having access to a proper support system or HR department at work, and not being able to read or write very well, or speak English, reporting abuse at work is not something that many women feel safe enough to do.

Yeung provides a background of federal labor laws, as well as the tireless work that people have done in states like New York and California to make sure that their industries and jobs fall under properly regulated labor laws. Yeung also provides extensive background into just how difficult it is for women to report harassment and assault in the workplace, the many hurdles they have to leap in order to actually be heard and believed and supported, as well as the sheer amount of cases that never make it past the first step. She also explains how many cases use Civil Rights legislation to prosecute the victims’ employers rather than go after the abuser himself, as there is a bigger possibility of actually winning the case (often with the latter the “he said she said” cases never make it anywhere).

All of the book is illustrated with heavily researched examples, success stories, stories that will make your ears bleed and your eyes pour, and stories that make you want to scream in anger. And also stories of solidarity and resistance that bring hope where there often isn’t any.

If you are interested in understanding how bad sexual harassment still is in this country, and in ways on where you can step in and make your voice heard for those women who feel like they don’t have a voice this is a must read. Yeung ends the book on a note of positivity, with examples of areas where companies are taking a proactive approach towards educating their workforce on harassment and how they can safely report concerns, as well as how unions are working on getting bills passed that will protect women in all areas of the workforce. However there is still so much more to be done, and I would love to see this book make it into as many hands as possible.

I have worked as a domestic worker and also as a janitorial assistant and know just how frightening it can be at times, being at the mercy of the families that hire you or the random cleaning companies who place you in different buildings every night. I was lucky to never have to fear my coworkers. I can’t even begin to imagine having to go into work every day wondering how I could hide from my supervisor’s advances. We keep hearing about Hollywood and Weinstein but we also need to talk about these women who remain in the shadows very loudly. No one should have to live through this. NO ONE.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

In a Day's Work starts with a series of case studies, with common themes. Clearly the author has done a huge amount of research. The book highlights the shocking and sad situation of men with power taking advantage of vulnerable women. What it really highlighted to me was the failure in the wider system, with no support network, public agencies or charities stepping in.

As a European reader, I was surprised by the extent of the undocumented workers employed, and the lack of support. It was also surprising the lack of national legislation or at least codes of conduct/standards in the USA. Some of the questioning processes described in the book I felt were not utterly conclusive, and open to different interpretation. For the non-American reader there were a number of terms and acronyms that were not known to me.

This is topical with many harassment cases in the news recently. These stories need to be told, so everyone can work to change the mind-set that is clearly still there amongst some people. It is in public interest to widen respect for all, especially the more vulnerable in our societies.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance copy in exchange for a fair review.

American News Broadcasts and social media have been very much lately dealing with cases of sexual harassment upon women over whom they have power by high profile men in the entertainment business and politics. Politicians have either resigned or lost elections. Media personalities are fired and even the so called president of the USA has admitted harassment of women and has been accused of sexual crimes by numerous women.

Bernice Yeung in her forthcoming superb work of investigative journalism, In A Day’s Work: The Fight to End Sexual Violence Against America’s Most Vulnerable Workers shows us the terrible sexual violence that has long gone ignored against women who work as night janitors, agricultural labourers (mostly seasonal workers) and household staff. Yeung tells us that crime statistics indicate that women in these occupations are the most often sexually abused women.

The women in these jobs often are poorly educated, have weak English skills, come from cultures where no one reports assaults to the police and are totally under the authority of men. In the case of female night janitors cleaning offices and big stores, the women often work alone. They have no witnesses to back up their assertions and desperately need to keep their jobs. Yeung takes us along when a worker for an NGO makes contact with night janitors and we hear stories of horrible abuse, including rape.

Female seasonal agricultural workers are especially vulnerable. Mostly speaking little English, often without permanent residency status their male bosses often feel they are fair game for anything. If the women submit they get to keep working, maybe get preferential treatment if lucky, if they resist they are usually fired. As they often live in company housing, this makes them homeless. In one heartbreaking case, a law suit was mounted against an apple Company where a long time supervisor had abused women for years but the women lost because the companies attorneys were able to destroy their credibility. The jury were all financially comfortable whites.

Yeung lets us get to know the women involved, bringing them to life. They all want little more than to support their families.

Yeung does show us how some women have fought back, have won law suits.

The next time a Hollywood producer is charged with abuse or a politician apologises contritely thing of the women in the shadows with little or no protection. Ask your self why do some women matter and others do not.

Given the current attempt to demonise immigrants, I think this will produce an environment where women in these job fields, legal or not residents, may fear speaking out even more. Immigrant Women are seen by many, including other women, as probably prostitutes on the side and are judged only by their looks.




Bernice Yeung is a reporter for Reveal, covering race and gender. Her work examines issues related to violence against women, labor and employment, immigration and environmental health. In 2014, Yeung was part of the national Emmy-nominated Rape in the Fields reporting team, which investigated the sexual assault of immigrant farmworkers. The project won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting. A former staff writer for SF Weekly and editor at California Lawyer magazine, Yeung has had her work appear in a variety of media outlets, including The New York Times, The Seattle Times, the Guardian US and KQED-FM. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master's degree from Fordham University, where she studied sociology with a focus on crime and justice. Yeung is based in Reveal's Emeryville, California, office.

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