Black mothers are the backbone to the fabric of America, and it’s time for corporate America to recognize this.
Per recent data shared with ESSENCE from Jobs For The Future, the Chamber of Commerce estimates that closing the racial equity gap in business could yield $8 trillion in gross domestic product growth by 2050.
The report outlined that adopting strategies like accessible childcare and reliable transportation, employers can harness the skills of more than 21 million Black workers (particularly mothers).
“Despite outpacing other demographic groups for the past eight years in terms of degree attainment, Black women continue to face barriers to obtaining and advancing in high-wage jobs in growing industries,” the report states. “This disparity has significant impact on Black family wealth overall, since 66 percent of Black women hold equal-earner, primary-earner, or sole-earner roles have in their households, compared to 40 percent of mothers overall.”
The report points out that Black women experience significant occupational
segregation, disproportionately face discrimination and bias in hiring, wages,
and advancement. What’s more, they experience education inequity, with data suggesting that Black women holding bachelor’s degrees earn sixty-two cents to every dollar earned by white men with the same educational background.
“Employers have the ability, and the responsibility, to leverage the talents of and
promote career advancement for all employees,” the report states. “In doing so, they can also promote racial and gender economic equity. As Black working mothers are still facing greater economic inequity due to factors like pay inequality, lack of career advancement support, and expansive gaps in access to child care; we call upon
employers to implement these action steps and to cater them in a way that is intersectional to meet the needs of all workers but especially for Black working mothers.”