Economic discrimination is major part of racial persecution

Racial discrimination has been experienced by Black people in a multitude of ways, but one evident and continuous example of discrimination is in the workplace. First, it started as a gender problem as women were paid less and boxed into certain careers, but once that barrier was removed women were able to attain jobs in all career fields with certain biases. Black women were never considered in the move to equality. Black women lose an estimated $1 million in wages because of racial discrimination in employer hiring and wage practices, says labor economist Michelle Holder.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Black women earn 73 cents for every dollar a White male earns. Black women have historically had the highest labor force participation rate among major female demographic groups but face both the gender and racial wage gap, which Holder calls the “double gap.” Overall, Black women annually face a $50 billion wage penalty, she states.
Goldman Sachs released its first-ever “Money Matters: One Million Black Women (OMBW) Economic Mobility Survey” this year which is a comprehensive national survey of 2,500 U.S. adults shedding light on the current economic state of Black women in America. The data revealed that 40 percent of Black women in the United States have annual household incomes under $50,000, compared to 24 percent of U.S. adults who earn the same figure. Forty-two percent of Black women working full-time or part-time feel they lack opportunities for career advancement or promotion, compared to 35 percent of U.S. adults. The benefits gap — health insurance, sick leave, vacation pay, for example — is also widened by race. White men are the most likely to have access to health insurance and pension benefits through their jobs. Of those with health insurance, only 43 percent of Black women receive it through their employer, in contrast to 53% nationwide.
Women of all races earn an average of 84 cents to the dollar males earn. In 2023, men who worked full-time earned $62,000 annually, while women earned just $52,000, according to the BLS. Women are overcrowded in certain “pink collar” roles — office administration, paralegals, for example — which pay about $46,000 per year. Management roles, on the other hand, pay about $96,000 per year.
But even when employees possess the same amount of human capital, a wage gap still exists, says Holder, who has testified before Congress on the gender pay gap. “There’s still a wage differential between Black and White, and men and women that can’t be explained by the data.”
“I have started my own business, and I am disciplined with my personal finances, yet even I am struggling with the affordability of basic needs like healthcare, child care, and emergency and retirement savings,” said Erica Bigger, OMBW: Black in Business Cohort 2 graduate and CEO of WhollyGloss. “I have strong faith in what lies ahead and will continuously invest in my abilities, but the current situation is not sustainable. I intend to collaborate with policymakers in Washington to champion initiatives that enhance economic opportunities for Black women in the United States.”
Tags: Goldman Sachs, Bureau of Labor Statistics