Black Women’s Roundtable has just released its annual report examining the state of Black women in America.
The report compares everything from our economic well being to our presence in politics, and finds that in many cases, we are worse off than our White counterparts.
“I look at the faces of Black women every day,” said Pennsylvania Rev. Dr. Judith Moore, a Roundtable participant, in the report. “I see their pain and wonder, what can we collectively contribute to reduce their stress? How can they overcome the systems that keep them weighed down so low? Their energy is snatched from them, yet we expect them to thrive. How?”
According to the report, Black women have had the hardest time recovering from the 2007 recession. Although last month, the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent—the lowest in seven years—the jobless rate among Black women rose to 8.9 percent, the highest percentage among any female demographic within the country.
Black women who earn a Bachelor’s degree on average make $49,882, nearly $10,000 less than a White man who holds an Associate’s degree.
When it comes to childbirth, Black women are more likely to suffer from maternal mortality. In fact, we are twice as likely to survive childbirth in countries like Lebanon, Libya, Albania or Serbia, than we are in the U.S.
However, there is good news on the political horizon. Black women are being elected to public office at a swift rate. In 2014, Mia Love became the first Black female Republican elected to Congress, and Ivy Taylor and Muriel Bowser were elected as mayors of San Antonio and Washington. D.C., respectively.
For more information, visit the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation’s website.