All South Africans may now have the right to vote, but economic change has been far slower for most black South Africans. Much of the country's wealth is still in the hands of whites and to be black and female can mean to be in the lowest strata of society. Many white families have domestic workers, often called "maids," who can have a somewhat curious relationship with the families for whom they work. In some households, domestic workers can almost become surrogate mothers, while in others the relationship is far more distant. New laws now attempt to protect the rights of domestic workers and ensure that they have a minimum wage and that employers adhere to decent employment procedures.