What Rising Unemployment Among Black Women Tells Us About Equity at Work

By Sonya Sepahban

In 1976, a young Oprah Winfrey was hired as a news co-anchor at a Baltimore TV station. She had the talent. She had the drive. But she was Black, she was a woman—and she didn’t fit the mold. Within a year, she was demoted. Management told her she was “too emotional” for news, a comment that masked deeper discomforts with her race and gender.

Today, Oprah’s story is one of perseverance and reinvention. But it’s also a reminder: when Black women show up, contribute, and lead, they’re often met with systems that are not built to support—or even retain—them.

Nearly 50 years later, the story hasn’t changed enough. ☹️

A Disturbing Trend: Black Women and Rising Joblessness

New data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and reported by Bloomberg reveals a troubling reversal of the progress in recent years. In April 2025, the unemployment rate for Black women aged 20 and older jumped to 6.1%, up from 5.1% the previous month, and significantly higher than 4.4% in February of the prior year. This marks the highest jobless rate for this group since 2022.

Meanwhile, the broader U.S. labor market has shown resilience. Overall workforce participation has ticked upward, but the opposite is happening for Black women. Employment among this group has declined for two straight months, and labor force participation has shrunk—from 59.3% in February to 57.5% in April of 2025.

📉 The labor market may be healing, but not for everyone. And certainly not for Black women.

Why Is This Happening?

The answers are complex, but they are not random.

Black women have historically been overrepresented in federal government roles—positions now being scaled back through workforce reductions and budget tightening. According to the BLS, the number of Black women employed in federal jobs has dropped by nearly 33% in the past year—compared to a 3.7% decrease in overall federal employment.

At the same time, industries like healthcare, where Black women are also highly represented, have added jobs. So why the disparity?

“The layoffs at the federal level where Black people are more represented... and just the overall use of DEI as a slur, which may be contributing to a lack of hiring of Black women—all of these factors are probably at play,” said Andre M. Perry, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

In other words, representation without structural support is not inclusion—it’s vulnerability.

DEI Is Not a Slogan—It’s a System of Support

At OurOffice, we have thousands of data points across years spent helping organizations build more inclusive and resilient workplace cultures. What we’re seeing in the labor market is a case study in what happens when DEI is treated as optional or performative.

When DEI becomes a buzzword instead of a strategic priority, the impact is felt most by those who have always been on the margins: Black women, women of color, frontline workers, and other underrepresented groups.

These aren’t abstract numbers—they’re real lives, and their stories often mirror Oprah’s early experience: high expectations, unequal support, and easy dismissal.

What Can Employers Do Differently?

1. Measure Inclusion, Not Just Diversity

Hiring metrics are not enough. Organizations must track engagement, advancement, retention, and belonging across demographic lines. Tools like OurOffice Workplace Assessment help leaders identify hidden inequities and design targeted action plans.

2. Protect Vulnerable Roles During Workforce Changes

If layoffs disproportionately impact Black women, something is broken in the decision-making process. Employers need workforce planning that assesses impact across identity groups before executing job cuts. At OurOffice, our Analytics are linked with our Planning tool to ensure leaders can track the impact of their action plans on metrics and take corrective actions, if needed.

3. Create Meaningful Internal Mobility Pathways

Many Black women are stuck in roles with limited upward mobility. By investing in internal mentorship, skill-building, and sponsorship programs, companies can create real ladders, not glass ceilings.

4. Make DEI Everyone’s Job

When DEI is siloed in HR or a small DEI office, it becomes a checkbox. Effective cultures ensure every leader, from frontline supervisors to the C-suite, is accountable for inclusive practices.

Addressing the Backlash: Counter Arguments and Responses

You will undoubtedly come across some pushback in this anti-DEI environment. So here are some responses to equip you for these conversations.

“Shouldn’t hiring be merit-based?”

It should—and equity ensures it is. Without acknowledging systemic barriers, meritocracy can’t work. Equity doesn’t mean giving unfair advantage; it means removing unfair disadvantages. It’s not about equal outcomes, it’s about opportunities. For more on this, see a great piece dedicated to unpacking What DEI Is and Is Not.

“We’re in a tough economy—diversity initiatives have to wait.”

But that’s when they matter most. Research by McKinsey shows that companies with diverse leadership outperform less diverse peers by 36%. Inclusion isn’t charity—it’s a successful strategy. This is why some of the most successful companies in their respective sectors have stood up for DEI, even in this environment. This is demonstrated nicely by the scorecard on shareholder voting on anti-DEI proposals that is maintained by the Impactivize organization. 

“These are just fluctuations in data.”

Perhaps. But a 12-month upward trend in joblessness among Black women—and a simultaneous drop in participation—is a pattern worth understanding, not dismissing. The future of our country depends on it!

A Systemic Problem Needs a Systemic Response

It’s not enough to spotlight individual stories like Oprah’s or even statistics like the 6.1% unemployment rate. These are symptoms of deeper structures that are showing up in the recent times and reversing the positive trends we were seeing. They include:

• Policies that deprioritize or even threaten to punish equity in government.
  
  
• Organizational cultures that lack or fear psychological safety.
  
  
• Hiring practices that penalize non-traditional candidates.
  
  
• DEI programs that exist in name but not in terms of accountability and impact.
  
  

DEI needs to evolve beyond workshops and statements. It must be a leadership strategy that is operationalized—integrated into how we hire, manage, promote, and exit people.

Rewriting the Story

Oprah could have given up when she was demoted. Instead, she changed the narrative—not just for herself, but for millions of people who now see her as a symbol of possibility.

But not everyone is Oprah, or needs to be Oprah. Most Black women are still navigating workplaces where their talent is undervalued and their job security is fragile, so they can’t take risks that may jeopardize their security and wellbeing of their family. And they deserve inclusion, an equal opportunity to show their merit and be rewarded for it.

What You Can Do

Whether you’re an executive, people leader, HR professional, or an engaged employee, here’s how you can be part of the solution:

✅ Audit your DEI data: Go beyond representation—look at promotions, engagement, and exit data.

🤝 Partner with your DEI team: If you don’t have one, advocate for one.

📊 Use tools like OurOffice to assess, plan, and track progress—not just activity.

💬 Speak up when you see inequity—and make space for others to do the same.

📚 Educate yourself on systemic barriers—and share what you learn with your teams.

Final Thought

The unemployment rate for Black women isn’t just a labor statistic—it’s a mirror reflecting the health of our institutions.

If we want to build workplaces where everyone thrives, then equity can’t be a side project. It has to be the way forward.

Let’s not wait until the numbers worsen. Let’s listen, measure, and act—while we still have time to rewrite the story.

For more discussion on this topic see our Linkedin post.

For more blogs on related topics see here.

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OurOffice helps busy HR and people leaders improve hiring, engagement, and retention by building a more inclusive workplace with an easy and affordable toolset, leading to better business outcomes. Unlike one-size-fits-all solutions, the OurOffice DEI platform is fully customizable to mix and match the right tools and ensure that you have the right solution to drive measurable impact. 

Ready to take your DEI initiatives to the next level? Contact OurOffice today to learn how we can support your journey toward a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace, or schedule a free session to discuss the challenges you are facing and get answers and guidance from professionals.