In this video, sociologist Victoria Smith describes the challenges low-wage workers face in trying to get ahead. Policies that increase earnings and stabilize work hours, she says, can make a difference for economically vulnerable workers and their families. 

Victoria Smith is Professor and Chair of Sociology at UC Davis and a Faculty Affiliate of the Center for Poverty Research. Her research focuses primarily on changes in work and employment relationships, with an eye to how these changes create and perpetuate distinct forms of inequality and destablization for American workers.