- 16 hours ago
Behind the headlines and political talking points lies a deeper truth: Black women are navigating a labor market that was not built for us.
This session takes a data‑driven and story‑driven look at the forces shaping Black women’s employment — from return to work and caregiving burdens to policy rollbacks and racialized hiring barriers. We’ll unpack the structural issues driving unemployment and underemployment, while uplifting the strategies Black women are using to survive, resist, and reimagine the future of work.
This session takes a data‑driven and story‑driven look at the forces shaping Black women’s employment — from return to work and caregiving burdens to policy rollbacks and racialized hiring barriers. We’ll unpack the structural issues driving unemployment and underemployment, while uplifting the strategies Black women are using to survive, resist, and reimagine the future of work.
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00:08Hello everyone, I'm back again. I'm Melissa Mitchell with ABL Creations and this topic
00:15keeps coming up. We are talking about black women in the workspace and how we have had to battle
00:20being pushed out and what that looks like when you're pushed out. You're not pushed out, you're
00:25actually elevated to higher heights. And so I'll have some amazing women coming up talking
00:30about being unemployed, underpaid, and undervalued in the real state of being a black woman in
00:35the professional space. I'm going to have my good girl Enza come up. She's going to be
00:39our moderator for this panel. I'll have Ann Price, Courtney Sander, and Erin White. So
00:49let's give it up to this amazing panel. They're going to drop some jewels about staying the
00:52course and being amazing. You're welcome, babe. See y'all later. Hello, hello, hello. Welcome
00:59to Essence Day 3, everybody. This topic is near and dear to my heart for a couple reasons.
01:05So number one, y'all can feel me being over or underemployed right now in my voice. This
01:11is my eighth panel in the last two days, so I've lost my voice, so bear with me. But I
01:16get to be on this wonderful stage with these wonderful women and I will just say, we love
01:20us. That's what this stage represents. So I want to give each of you a moment to introduce
01:24yourselves once I introduce the topic. So we're going to be talking about the current
01:28state of black women's work. Unemployed, underpaid, undervalued. And what we see is that black
01:34women statistically are the most educated and the most entrepreneurial, but also the most
01:39impacted by unemployment right now. And we're going to unpack why that is, but leave you with
01:44what we can do about it and what really matters. Take a minute, introduce yourselves, ladies.
01:50Hello, everyone. My name is Ann Price and I'm co-founder and co-president of an organization
01:56called the Maven Collaborative. We focus on the hopes and dreams of black women in the economy.
02:04Good afternoon. I'm Courtney Sanders and I'm the executive director of National Jobs for
02:09All Network. There'll be some fact sheets passed out soon to you all. And we're housed at the
02:15New School in New York with the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy.
02:21Hey, everybody. Erin White. I am the founder and CEO of Hexagon Strategy Group. I help businesses
02:28between 2 to 10 million operationalize what I call kindness, making sure that they can scale
02:34and grow and that they make sure that what they're presenting to the world is exactly what they are
02:41internally. So I'm going to start the first question for Ann and Courtney. When we talk about
02:47unemployment, underemployment, and wage inequality among black women, what's the most misunderstood
02:53or misrepresented, left out fact or part of information? So Ann asked me to start, so I will.
03:01I think there are a few things, but I'll talk about three. The first is black women are the highest
03:09when it comes to labor force participation. We're about 63% in the labor force, but we are the lowest
03:15paid in the labor force. The second thing is oftentimes, you know, people say, oh, it's a good
03:22economy. It's a bad economy. They're looking at the unemployment rate, but we really should be looking
03:28at the underemployment rate, meaning that there are women in jobs that they have to have versus the
03:34jobs that they want to have, and they're having the pay that they, you know, barely scraping by versus
03:40the pay that they really want. So in Louisiana, the minimum wage is still $7.25, right? Where there's
03:47legislation in Congress right now for a living wage where everyone could get $25 an hour for a minimum
03:54wage. And then the third thing I'll say is we have to stop talking about unemployment or the economy
04:04as it's not our economy. So I want to just say off the top that all of this is by
04:10happen, chance,
04:11and choice. Policymakers can make or break whether we're unemployed, underpaid, and undervalued.
04:18And so I think that that is a part of the narrative that we need to really think about. The
04:22economy is
04:23not this natural force that we have no control over. We actually can participate, and there are
04:29policies out there to help us. Yeah, I would say we don't often talk enough about care and how care
04:36dictates where we work, how long we work, and what we do. We don't look at the fact that a
04:44lot of our
04:45wages get spread across family members, communities. And so there's a huge ripple effect. When someone,
04:52when a black woman loses her job, there are people, depending on that income, might not just be in
04:57their household, their parents, their siblings, right? So this has a big ripple effect on all of
05:05our communities. So we have to look at that. We have to look at the fact that some black women
05:09are
05:10taking jobs now, once they've lost them, that are paying them much less than what the job they were
05:16in. Sometimes going back to like their first job, what they got paid. So we've got to look at going
05:22beyond the numbers and think about the issue of care and how our incomes are spread across our
05:29community. Yeah, I think you make a really great point that our incomes as black women affect so many
05:35other people, so many communities, so many other small businesses. And what I'm hearing is that
05:40it's not just a matter of education or ambition. It's a matter of the systems that are built around
05:46us and our understanding of those systems and participation in those systems that leads us
05:51to different outcomes. I got a follow-up question for Courtney. Let's get into the data a little bit.
05:56What does the data tell us about what's happening with the state of black women's work?
06:00I mean, here's the point, right? We don't really need data. Raise your hand if you are doing better
06:06than you were last year. Not one hand, okay, a little bit, a few hands went up, but most hands
06:13didn't go up, right? Because the data is showing that people are still struggling. People are still
06:20finding ways to pay their light bill and to put food on their table. So last year, Congress passed
06:28H.R. 1 or the big, beautiful bill. Y'all remember that? Well, what's happening when it comes to black
06:35women and unemployment and underpaid and being undervalued is there is data out there where
06:41the federal government is doing more than just passing legislation that affects us economically,
06:46but they were firing and targeting black women in the federal government. And we saw 300,000 black
06:53women being forced abruptly out of the labor market. And this year, we still see hundreds
06:59of thousands of black women not having the job that they started with in 2024. And so that's
07:06the data and the context that we're living in right now. But here's some other things because
07:10oftentimes we don't talk about older people and how they're aging with dignity and respect.
07:1511,000 people will turn 65 every day. 11,000 people. And yet we do not have the infrastructure
07:24in place to make sure they age with dignity and respect. So not only are the young folks
07:29working and being underpaid, but our grandmas and aunties are going back to the jobs that are low wage
07:35and minimum wage just to put food on their table. And that's not right.
07:39It is. And what we're saying is being employed enough is not the same thing as being financially
07:45stable. It's not the same thing as being supported and wealthy and being able to build beyond the
07:50one meal that you can afford to get today. So follow up question for Aaron. This is a little
07:55bit into your background. I know Aaron personally. So this is our living room. We just going to talk
07:59like we know each other. Okay. So coming from corporate America to entrepreneurship, you spent years
08:06inside major corporations before building your own. What pushed you to make this leap? What did you learn
08:11about work value and opportunity on this side? So what pushed me to make the leap was I was forced
08:19like many of us are. I was in a wonderful corporation that Coca-Cola that I learned a lot.
08:28However, I was with a European bottler. And so they decided to move to Europe. No fault of mine, nothing.
08:34But I decided in 2016 to start my own business because it was necessary. I had to function.
08:41And so I took a teeny bit of my severance money and did that. What I've learned on this side
08:47is that
08:47a lot of times how you moved in corporate is not necessarily how you move in entrepreneurship.
08:54So I had a steep learning curve, but I had a lot of help. I have great friends as well
08:59that were doing
09:01it before me and speaking life into me. What I also learned is that it's not a zero-sum game.
09:07I don't have to either be an entrepreneur or work in corporate. And I would say keep your job.
09:14Okay. If you have it. And I think everybody can be an entrepreneur. That's not a widely held belief.
09:22But you can be. If you have a side hustle. If you have something. But never depend on one thing.
09:27Especially what Courtney and Ann has told us. Everybody needs to start something. And so I would say start there.
09:34I think that's a perfect segue. So the next question is about, please clap it up for that.
09:41And I'm, so she didn't say it, but we're friends for real in life. At home, I had to leave
09:46to be getting forced out.
09:47And it was one of the best experiences of my life. So in 2018, I was forced out of my
09:53role.
09:542019, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. It was actually my first Essence Fest. I was invited
09:59by some of the people that work here.
10:01And they were like, you got to get here. And now here we are, seven years later. And I'm the
10:05CFO and CCO of the New Voices Fund.
10:08That is putting on these information. So I still have my own accounting firm. And I'm still running that firm
10:14as well.
10:14So this is my lived experience. So as we reimagine work, what does it look like now to kind of
10:21weave in these non-traditional streams of income with the traditional streams of income?
10:26What are some examples of things we can do that we can offer to the audience of practical ways, practical
10:33new streams, and ways to integrate it into our lives for anybody?
10:36So I would say right now, I think we are saying we're in the worst kind of economy, but we're
10:44also in the best. There's a lot of opportunity. There's a lot of information out there that you can learn.
10:50I would say build your skill sets. Whatever skill sets you are lacking, even if you've been laid off, use
10:56this as an opportunity to grow. And then take something that's your passion. Take courses.
11:02When you look at SBA or some free courses, learn how to build from a strong foundation.
11:10ENSA is probably the most well-put-together person I know as far as entrepreneurship. Get it right and start
11:17slow.
11:18The other thing I'll tell you is that you have time. Right now, we feel like we're in a rush
11:23because everything is swirling about us.
11:25But you have time. Do not be deceived. Don't try to rush into anything. Take your time. Learn. Make connections.
11:34All of these vendors that are around us are entrepreneurs. Talk to them. Buy a little something from them. And
11:40then that's what I would say.
11:41I would also say that you have an opportunity. If you cook, make a plate. And I know it sounds
11:47simple, but if you design, design something for somebody.
11:51I live in Atlanta. There's an organization called the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs.
11:55They welcome people. I have two people here in the audience. But they welcome people. Get in these incubators.
12:01Help yourself. Take the time. You can do it. And then talk to everybody that's here and see how you
12:07can make it relevant for yourself.
12:10I just want to say that I also think it's important to say the onus is not on us alone.
12:16It's our government. And if it's structural and institutional issues that are happening that puts us in positions that makes
12:23us vulnerable, then we also need to start to think about, okay, yeah, all the things you said were important.
12:29And there are some other things that could happen to make our lives better.
12:34We should be picking ourselves and we should be having safety and freedom in our everyday lives without the worry
12:40of having to pick up that extra job or having to make that plate.
12:44That should be a bonus. That should be like, oh, you know what, girl? I do know how to cook
12:49well.
12:49Let me go ahead and make this extra little money on the side. It shouldn't be the necessity to our
12:54work. It's not our ownership.
12:56We pay too much in taxes. We give too much time in voting and civic engagement. We invest in our
13:01communities too much for us to say all the onus is on us.
13:07Yeah, I would just add that we have to think about ourselves as a community and start breaking down some
13:13of these fear barriers, right?
13:15A lot of times, even without knowing it, we're operating from fear, whether that's within your employment, within your entrepreneurship,
13:22within your personal life, you're operating from fear.
13:24We're operating from trauma that is hereditary, right? It's been passed down to me. I don't even understand why I
13:30feel that way, but my mother felt that way. So we've got to get past that.
13:34One of my fears was as a service provider getting into product. I would tell people if there's a product
13:42that you can produce, produce it. I have a book I wrote, what was that, seven years ago?
13:47I'm not even saying the name because that's not the point. It still gets sold randomly on like Amazon or
13:53some Barnes and Noble site.
13:54I randomly wake up and there's money in a bank account. That happened seven years ago. I haven't thought about
13:59that.
13:59I produced a card game with friends. It's randomly selling on a website. I don't know anything about it anymore.
14:04It's just money.
14:05So you want to start creating ways to have mailbox money, money that is just showing up to you.
14:10You don't have to touch it anymore. Find something that does that for you. Even if it's an app that
14:15you create with a bot or an agent, like do something that you can just get money from that you
14:20don't have to keep touching.
14:21And that builds money for later. Do you mind if I say, you touched on something really quickly.
14:25In corporate and in other jobs, they will make you think that you cannot do something, that fear. They will
14:32beat creativity out of you. They will beat innovation out of you. They will put fear inside of you.
14:39I saw a video recently that says, we, imposter syndrome does not belong to us. And it does not belong
14:46to us. And I would say the first thing you have to do is work out your fear.
14:51Know who is also responsible and know what you can do so you can start moving forward.
14:58You know what, we do need ecosystems of support. We need people around us that can encourage us, that can
15:06be there for us through our highs and our lows, and who will be there when we take risks.
15:13Because we have to take risks right now. That risk could be the greatest reward. I would say don't rely
15:20necessarily on what you've been doing for 20 years, right?
15:23They want you to think, right, you don't have other skills, other talents. I say go inward and start to
15:30ask yourself, what have I always dreamt about? What have I been passionate about?
15:35What do I feel that has been pushed down for so long that I don't even know myself anymore? Because
15:43that's what a lot of these jobs will do for you, make you believe that you only have one skill
15:48set.
15:48So really going inward is really important, but also having people around you that can lift you up, but also
15:56you can vet ideas with, that you can experiment with. That will make a big difference.
16:02Yeah. So one of my next questions is about practical advice. And I'm going to give my tidbit, which essentially
16:08bridges what you three just said.
16:09I look at my practical advice is making sure you have the right ecosystem around you at all times. And
16:16to your point, Courtney, I don't necessarily mean that the ecosystem has to look like us.
16:20You can rely on people outside of our direct communities to help you. There are people there. But the four
16:26people that I always want to have in my direct community are a mentor and a sponsor, a mirror and
16:33a cheerleader.
16:33Anybody know the difference between a mentor and sponsor? Raise your hand. OK, so mentors are the people who can
16:40give you specific advice about the thing you do.
16:43As an accountant, I want an accountant or someone similar who is further ahead or doing more things.
16:48A sponsor is someone who's going to speak up for me, who is going to put me in rooms. They
16:54don't have to do what I do. As a matter of fact, I don't want them to.
16:57I want them to be the CEO. I want them to be technology. And they're going to say, hey, tech
17:01team, you need that accountant over there to help you get through this.
17:05A mirror is your honest person who's always going to tell you the truth, whether you like it or not.
17:12And a cheerleader is the person who's going to lift you up no matter what.
17:16So mirror and cheerleader go together because you don't need that truth teller without the cheerleader. You'll be demoralized.
17:22So I'm going to ask the last two questions, give everybody a chance to answer. The first of which is,
17:28what is one piece of practical advice that we can leave the audience with as they make this transition mentally
17:34and economically or through from entrepreneurship to employment or vice versa?
17:40I'll just say one simple thing. We have to move past exhaustion. We're exhausted. Right. And you can't dream if
17:49you're that tired. It's OK for us to rest. It's OK for us to take time for ourselves because we're
17:56always pouring out.
17:58And until we pour in, we might not be able to find those things. We can't think clearly. So I
18:04would say pour into yourself.
18:06I think one practical practical advice is understanding you're not delusional.
18:11I worked. I served at the pleasure of the president and vice president in the Biden-Harris administration.
18:18And I also was laid off. Right. I was also put in a position because I did DEI work, even
18:25though I have multiple degrees, even though I'm in economic policy that's supposed to be race neutral. Right. Gender neutral
18:31and still push out of the labor market.
18:34And I felt delusional. I felt like what is it that I'm not doing?
18:38So my practical advice to you is really for you to understand you're not delusional.
18:43It is systemic. It is structural. And it is on purpose the way that we are unemployed, underpaid and undervalued
18:51as black women.
18:54I wanted to let that clap sit there. You deserve that. So I'll tie in with all of them said,
19:02please, please, please have a bias for action.
19:06Do not over plan. The people that get money for businesses and you they are not smarter than you.
19:15You take action. Don't overthink the over plan. Exhaustion can cause you to do that.
19:22People making you think you're crazy can cause you to do that. And I would even say the other mirror
19:27is yourself.
19:28Do the mirror work in front of a mirror. My mother made me do that growing up when I had
19:34low self-esteem.
19:35Talk to yourself and tell yourself that you can do this and then move. Stop waiting.
19:45I'm gonna leave with one last question. Tell me something in the new way that we're working in this new
19:52ecosystem.
19:52We're building one thing that gives you hope. We'll start with Courtney as they pass out Courtney's materials.
20:01Yeah. All right. So, yeah, y'all are getting the work. What gives me hope?
20:06You know, I'm three generations from slavery and we just celebrated 250 year anniversary of America, right?
20:15The independence of America. What gives me hope is I see all of you and I know that my grandmother's
20:21prayers were not in vain and that this too shall pass.
20:30We are the backbone of our nation's economy. We are the canaries in the coal mine. We are the blueprint
20:38for the future.
20:39And we have to believe that it is a truth. And so I think what gives me hope is that
20:47we will find our way out of this.
20:49And it will create something beautiful for our communities and for our nation. I know that we will do it.
20:58What gives me hope and I see it every day. I'm seeing it here. I see it when I hang
21:03out with my friends in Atlanta is that black people, we never let go of our joy.
21:07We never let go of our joy. We may be upset. We're going to cut up. We're going to have
21:11a good time.
21:12We're going to learn. We're going to grow. We're going to hang with friends that we've known forever.
21:16We're going to do it in spite of. And more than ever, people show their joys at the polls.
21:23And I've been seeing that too. And so remember to show your joy at the polls as well.
21:30I'll close us out. What gives me hope? This is year seven for me. So this room gives me hope.
21:36Seeing you all at this stage gives me hope because we are going to sit together and talk about it.
21:42We're going to get these topics. We're going to just demystify any information we don't know.
21:46We're going to hold each other up. But more than anything, I like seeing the 10 year booth, the 15
21:51year booth,
21:52and the one year I just started a few months ago booth next to each other. I like seeing that.
21:58I like seeing the long lines that it takes to get in here. I hate that y'all was in
22:01the heat. I'm sorry.
22:02But the line to get in here says something about how we love each other and that we would stand
22:08in that line.
22:09If I would stand in line to do anything else, I would stand in line to support you. And that's
22:12what you're demonstrating.
22:14So that gives us hope. I want to make sure that you have a wonderful day.
22:17I think I'll be right back here in a few minutes. So don't go away. But we love us.
22:21This is the stage that we show love to you by giving you information. We want you to interact with
22:26us.
22:27Please interact with the new voices booth and let us know what we can provide for you next year using
22:31the QR code
22:32so that we can make sure we love on you in the ways that matter the most. Thank you so
22:36much.
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