UC Berkeley

For my dissertation, I examined the impact of poverty narratives on 40 Pasifika and Black women who had sought public assistance using in-depth interview data. I secured funding to support two advisory boards (one from each community), who helped shape the interview questions, research procedures, and ensured the research remained aligned with their values. The interviews explored experiences navigating public assistance, including encounters with racism and the pressures of seeking help as women of color. Participants described varied experiences with social services, with programs like CalWorks (California's TANF) often viewed negatively compared to programs like WIC or CalFresh. Systemic barriers and harmful poverty narratives shaped their interactions, often leading to feelings of being judged as lazy or undeserving. Racism further compounded these issues, with Black women experiencing overt discrimination and Pasifika women encountering subtler but still pervasive biases. Both groups faced societal pressures to appear strong, limiting their ability to seek help without feeling stigmatized. Pasifika women, in particular, felt the added burden of representing their community’s success.