A comprehensive report by the Black Women’s Roundtable details the multitude of disparities faced by black women living, working and raising families in the United States. The report assessed conditions of black women in areas of health, education, labor force participation, wages, retirement security, safety, and civic engagement, among others.
Findings include:
- Maternal mortality is especially high among black women, who are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.
- Black women are disproportionately victims of violence.
- Black women are more likely than women of any other racial group to work, especially among mothers.
- Despite strides in educational attainment, black women are the most likely group to work for poverty-level wages.
- Due to the wage gap and over-representation in low-wage fields, black women over 65 have the lowest household incomes of any demographic group.
It is clear that race matters when it comes to economic mobility. Nationally, nearly two-thirds of blacks are raised in the bottom quintile, compared to just 11% of whites. People of color, and especially women of color, are much more likely to work minimum wage jobs and live below the poverty level. The racial wealth gap is significantly worse than the income gap and has widened over the last several decades.
The reality is that discrimination is a significant factor in the disparities that people of color live every day. However, gaps in public policy have no doubt contributed to increasing inequality.
Several solutions that would have dramatic impacts for Washington’s women of color include:
- Paid sick and safe days: Nationally, 62% of black workers and 47% of Latino workers have access to paid sick leave, compared to 64% of white workers. In addition to time to recover for illness or care for a sick loved one, the enacted law in Seattle and proposed statewide bill ensure access to paid time off for victims of domestic violence. Paid sick leave also allows time for preventive care, including prenatal and wellness visits.
- Family and medical leave insurance: Women of color are less likely to use paid leave to care for a new child, largely due to decreased access. Implementation of paid family leave in California led to increases in average duration of maternity leave from 1 to 7 weeks for black mothers and from 4 to 7 weeks for white mothers. Paid leave also increases duration of breastfeeding, which provides long-term benefits to children.
- Raise the minimum wage and eliminate wage gaps: Gender and racial wage gaps are persistent and pervasive. Women make up 47% of Washington’s labor force, but 56% of minimum wage workers. Similarly, people of color make up 27% of our labor force, but 38% of those earning the minimum wage. A minimum wage increase and elimination of wage gaps would help to secure economic stability for women of color, as well as all low-wage workers.
Addressing the disparities faced by black women would certainly increase their ability to achieve upward mobility, but would also address the roadblocks to economic security faced my so many Washington workers and their families. Good jobs – those that provide a living wage, paid leave, retirement contributions and health coverage – have become increasingly more scarce, despite a more experienced and better educated workforce. Without policy interventions, those at the bottom rungs will continue to fall further behind.
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Despite the progress black families have made in civic and economic life since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, they face systemic and cumulative barriers on the road to wealth building due to discrimination, poverty, and a shortage of social connections (including role models and mentors in their communities) as both mechanisms and results of racial economic inequity.
Aug 4 2020 at 7:06 AM