Bison Trailblazers | Giving Voice to the Invisible: Howard PhD Student Digna Mosquera Champions Domestic Workers' Rights

by Anna De Cheke Qualls

Digna Mosquera, an economics PhD student at Howard University, was working from her home when she received an email from the University of Wisconsin bearing exciting news: she had won the 2026 Graduate Student Research Workshop Award. Mosquera views the award and its funding as a crucial validation of her academic path.

"This recognition means a lot to me, especially in this stage of my journey, when you are constantly questioning your own topic, your methods, and whether if your research will be meaningful to someone outside academia," Mosquera shared. "Personally, this award is a very important encouragement to keep working on research that contributes to conversations about underserved and often overlooked populations".

The Spark of Inspiration 

Mosquera’s passion for her research topic traces back to her roots as an international student from Chocó, Colombia. In 2016, during her undergraduate studies, she witnessed the passage of a landmark law in Colombia that granted domestic workers the right to a mandatory 13th-month salary payment. This victory was championed by UTRASD, the country's first Afrocolombian Domestic Workers Union, a group of women who had overcome immense isolation and the trauma of armed conflict to organize.

Years later, as a member of the Medellin-based Afrofeminist grassroots organization Wiwas Collective, Mosquera read Paula Moreno’s book Soñar Lo Imposible. The book highlighted the story of María Roa, one of UTRASD's founders. When a recent Netflix series based on Roa's story captured the nation's attention, Mosquera found herself questioning the actual, on-the-ground impact of the 2016 law.

Discovering a lack of academic research on the subject, Mosquera made a bold decision. "I decided to change my dissertation proposal and focus on this project because it moved me much more, both personally and intellectually," she explained.

Evaluating the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights 

Mosquera's dissertation begins by analyzing the 2016 reform in Colombia before expanding its focus to the United States, specifically examining the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (DW BoR). The DW BoR introduces foundational protections at the local and state levels, including minimum wage, paid leave, and overtime pay.

Her core research seeks to uncover what happens after these laws are passed. "Do domestic workers actually receive these mandatory benefits, particularly given the high levels of informality in this sector?" Mosquera asks, further investigating whether employers respond to the new laws by cutting hours or employment.

Through her work, she hopes to dismantle harmful misconceptions about a workforce that is highly racialized, gendered, and rooted in the legacy of slavery. Domestic work is frequently dismissed as simply "part of the family" rather than real labor. Mosquera passionately pushes back against this narrative: "The care economy makes every other economic activity possible. People are able to work and participate in the economy because someone else is caring for their children, older adults, their homes and families". "Therefore, domestic workers deserve the same recognition, rights and labor protections as other workers, and live their lives with dignity," she added.

A Mixed-Methods Approach to Find Hidden Voices 

To accurately tell this story, Mosquera employs a mixed-methods research design. Her first two chapters utilize quantitative analysis of large datasets, such as the American Community Survey (ACS) and data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, she acknowledges a major hurdle: traditional surveys often fail to capture live-in, informal, or undocumented workers.

To overcome this structural invisibility, Mosquera is dedicating her third chapter to qualitative methods. "In that way, I can include the voices and experiences of workers whom I cannot fully represent through my initial analysis," she noted, emphasizing that acknowledging these data limitations actually strengthens the integrity of her causal estimates.

Real-World Impact Starts at Home 

Mosquera’s ultimate goal is to generate evidence that helps domestic worker organizations, informs public debate, and shapes better policy. Yet, the real-world impact of her expertise is already taking root in personal ways.

Recently, Mosquera had a conversation with her mother in Colombia, who employs a part-time domestic worker. Her mother asked if the worker was entitled to the new legal rights. Mosquera explained that she was, and helped her mother calculate the required social security, health, and pension contributions based on the days worked.

"Interestingly, the worker herself was not aware of those rights either," Mosquera recalled. "And for me, that was a meaningful example to understand why having these conversations matters, and how access to information makes a difference".

Armed with her new award and a deep sense of purpose, Mosquera is poised to make a profound impact on labor economics. As she states, "The world cannot leave domestic workers alone".