When Black Women suffer, the nation suffers
By Iris Ann Cooper
A 2015 research study confirmed that Black women are at the rock bottom of the economic yardstick, in spite of being the most educated demographic group in the nation. Sponsored by The National Coalition on Black Civic Engagement and the Black Women’s Roundtable, this document displayed current statistics demonstrating that the recent economic recovery had ignored the losses that Black females experienced during the recent recession. Black Women in the United States, funded by The Moriah Fund, Ford Foundation, and AARP, clearly illustrates the vulnerability of the Black woman’s role as the foundation of countless relationships in our community and the world. Listed below are some of the sad truths about the lifestyle of a Black woman today:
BLACK WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO LIVE IN POVERTY THAN ANY OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP IN THE CENSUS DATA.
• A Black woman high school graduate fails to earn as much as a white male dropout with a 9th grade education or less ($30,450 vs. $32,675).
• Black women with Bachelor’s degrees, on average, earn about $10,000 less than White men with an Associate’s degree ($49,882 vs. $59,014).
• In fact, it would take nearly two Black women college graduates to earn what the average White male college graduate earns by himself ($55,804 vs. $100, 620).
• Compared to other women, Black women fall at or near the bottom in earnings across every level of education. Among college degree holders specifically, Black women take home the lowest earnings across the board!
• The poverty rate of Black women (25.1%) more than doubles that of White women (10.3%) and Asian women (11.5%), and just slightly eclipses that of Latinas (24.8%).
• Among single mother households, nearly half of such families headed by Black women are poor (46.7%), just below the proportion attributed to Latina-headed households (48.6%), but significantly more than is the case among single white (33.1%) and Asian mothers (26.3%).
Why are Black women lagging behind? Perhaps Black women fail to negotiate an appropriate salary when hired to avoid the possibility of losing the position to her white counterpart. Perhaps Black women accept employment with substandard compensation
and benefits because a job is better than no job when there are multiple mouths to feed. Perhaps Black women don’t know their value in the workplace, so they accept less than what they deserve. None of these propositions are acceptable for a society that relies on Black women to perform so many critical services to and for others. Black women are caregivers for their families and others without families. Black women are leaders in organizations that address the inequities in health, education, employment, and criminal justice in our community; their actions impact, influence, and sustain others within their reach, regardless of race, creed, or color. The ripple effect of despair snowballs and the community suffers when Black women suffer.
Wise politicians should create and sustain policies that bolster the economic status of the Black woman as one of society’s model citizens and a guardian for our community. Wise voters should endorse those politicians that demonstrate their respect, (by word and deed), for the Black woman’s value to our community. To align with the Black woman is to align with humanity.
“…If you have the courage of your convictions, you must stand up and be counted. I hope that the day will come in America when this business of male versus female does not become such an overriding issue, so that the talents and abilities that the almighty God have given to people can be utilized for the benefit of humanity.”- Shirley Chisholm
Your Source for Sound Business Advice. JUSTASKIRIS! (www.justaskiris.com)