PROFESSION: CLEANER

Cleaning women: they are everywhere, yet their existence often goes all but unnoticed. Though this unskilled profession may be looked down upon socially, it is one of the first that women turn to when there is nothing else they can do. Immigration, poverty, lack of education, divorce, life’s myriad casualties: very different women have found their means of survival in this trade, which is expanding rapidly as the service sector grows. These women, to protect their dignity, are often reluctant to speak of the professional, social, and personal realities they face every day. This documentary is made for
them—and sheds light on the increasing ranks of the working poor.