Living at the intersection of racism and sexism is far from easy. Black Women are discriminated against for being Black and for being women, and they exist in both identities at all times. The story of Black women at work and in life is one of resilience. Despite the challenges and barriers in their way, women have accomplished so much and continue to make amazing strides. Black Women are becoming highly educated. They are ambitious. They are business owners forging their own paths. Their drive to succeed is often not just for themselves, but also to lift up their communities
Working at the intersection: What Black women are up against
Black women face vast obstacles due to
I’ve come here to fix things that are not going right!
Outside of work, black women are at the forefront of social change. As the National Women’s Law Center has stated, “Almost all social justice movements were and are carried on the backs of women of color.”
Black Women, especially, contributions to culture—in academia, literature, music, fashion, social media, feminism, and so much more—are undeniable.
And women challenge society to be better. As Maya Angelou said in 1978, “Out of the huts of history’s shame, I rise. Up from a past that’s rooted in pain, I rise.” Women rise.
More than a few Black Women are highly educated.
Black women enroll in college at higher rates than men overall and—most notably—at higher rates than white men
Between 2004 and 2014, the share of Black women with a bachelor’s degree or higher have increased by 24%
Black women are ambitious—for themselves and they try to make the workplace better for others.
As many Black women as white men (41%) say that they want to become top executives
Of Black women who wants to become top executives, about half—more than any other ethnic group of women—say they are motivated by the desire to be role models for others like themselves.
More than half of Black women who want to become top executives also say that they are driven by a desire to influence the culture of their workplace—again, they are more likely than any other ethnic group of women to name this as a motivation.
Final thought
Black Women are the fastest-rising entrepreneurial group among women.
Between 1997 and 2017, the number of Black women–owned businesses grew by more than 600%, compared to just 39% for white women–owned businesses and 114% for women-owned businesses overall
Systemic Racism at Work
Black women are successful in many ways, but their achievements are in spite of glaring inequality in society—including the workplace. For the last five years, research has shown in so many different ways, Black women have a harder and worse experience than almost everyone else. Black Women are overrepresented in minimum-wage jobs. Black Women hired and promoted more slowly. Black Women are often the only woman in the room and experience a greater variety of microaggressions than women of other ethnicities. And Black women are paid less than men and most other groups of women.
Black Women are over represented in minimum-wage jobs and almost nonexistent in the C-suite.
Black women make up 7% of the total workforce but account for 12% of minimum-wage earners
Only 21% of C-suite leaders are women, only 4% are women of color, and only 1% are Black women
Not a single Fortune 500 or S&P 500 company has a Black woman CEO (as of June 19, 2020)
Black women face bias and systemic barriers in hiring and promotions.
For every 100 men hired into manager roles, only 64 Black women are hired
For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 58 Black women are promoted
47% of Black transgender women report being fired, denied a promotion, or not hired because of their gender identity
Black Women mobilize communities, friends, and families to vote.
In 2018, 84% of Black women voters said they’d talked to their friends and family about voting, the highest percentage of any ethnic group
Black women also tend to vote at higher rates than other groups. Despite voter suppression, eligible Black women voted at rates 6 percentage points above the national average in 2018
Final thoughts
Black women often have a problem with doubt. “Doubt” which causes acts of resistance. They doubt that Love is pure coming from men who they do not feel they can trust to be sincere. So what has been happening is that women are turning to other women for Love and sincere affections. They don’t want to have relationships that will most likely fail. Their needs are often met physically, as sex toys can do the trick, hugging and kissing another women can not do any harm, like a man who can get the woman pregnant and then leave her to deal with raising her child all by herself.
