NCNW Advocacy & Policy Brief

UNEQUAL PAY, UNEQUAL POWER:  THE ECONOMIC TOLL ON BLACK WOMEN

Executive Summary

Although Black women are among the most educated demographics in the United States, earning college and advanced degrees at record rates, they continue to face the steepest wage gaps in the American labor market. Compared to white men, who as a group have lower educational attainment, Black women earn only 64 cents for every dollar (Institute for Women’s Policy ResearchNational Partnership for Women & Families). This pay disparity is not just a matter of personal economics. It is a public crisis that deepens poverty in the Black community, limits wealth accumulation, and sustains historical systems of racial and gender-based inequality.

Over the course of a 40-year career, the wage gap robs Black women of nearly $1 million in potential income. For most Black families, $1 million could be the difference between financial stability and economic precarity(Center for American Progress). It could fund homeownership, education, retirement, and access to healthcare. As over 60 percent of Black mothers are the primary or sole breadwinners for their families, this inequity has generational consequences that reverberate far beyond individual households.

This policy brief examines the historical context of Black women’s labor in the United States, the current pay gap crisis, the legislative landscape, new economic threats, and the critical need for intersectional policy solutions. It highlights H. Con. Res. 118, introduced in 2024 by Congresswoman Alma Adams, which formally recognizes the pay gap and its economic consequences and calls on Congress to reaffirm its commitment to equal pay for equal work.

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