Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #EconforBlackWomen
Black women play an increasingly critical role in helping to sustain and fuel our economy—as the economic engines for their families, as essential workers on the frontlines, as consumers, as small-business owners, and more. They have among the highest labor force participation rates for women, and Black mothers are more likely to be breadwinners than mothers from any other racial or ethnic groups. Yet the U.S. economy does not deliver the same returns for Black women as it does for other workers. Black women are paid less than their white female and male counterparts, they experience higher rates of unemployment, they have less job mobility, and they are underrepresented at the most senior levels in the workplace. Still, in the national narrative about the state of the economy, Black women are often treated as an afterthought or left out altogether.
On Friday, August 7, the latest update of the nation’s employment situation—including overall jobs numbers and unemployment statistics—will be released. Please join the Center for American Progress for an important conversation with leading economists to discuss the economic status of Black women as well as the devaluation of Black women’s work, the gaps in investments made during the current pandemic that have further strained Black women’s economic standing, and the need for a more inclusive economic narrative that prioritizes the real-world challenges Black women face.
We would love to hear your questions. If you have questions for our panel, please submit them on Twitter using the hashtag #EconforBlackWomen or via email to [email protected].
This event will be live captioned at americanprogress.org/livecaptioning.
Panelists:
Dr. Rhonda V. Sharpe, Founder and President, Women’s Institute for Science, Equity and Race
Dr. Michelle Holder, Assistant Professor of Economics at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York
Dr. Valerie Wilson,Director, Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy, Economic Policy Institute
Moderator:
Jocelyn Frye, Senior Fellow with the Women’s Initiative, Center for American Progress