The lack of equity in income and wealth shapes the way women of color can respond to social and financial crises, sometimes escalating minor financial setbacks into an array of economic hardships which make a recovery difficult. Women of color are, unfortunately, at the center of economic inequality and most in need of paid leave and wage increases.
How is your stress level? Are you feeling anxious? If you answered pretty high or yes, you are not alone. The pandemic’s impact on mental health is significant and well-documented.
As the United States builds back from COVID-19, policymakers must invest in policies the country’s workers needed long ago to help support parents, family caregivers and all working people – especially women, women of color, and people who work in lower-wage jobs that do not offer benefits.Â
Recent evidence suggests that the syndemic of COVID-19 and systemic racism has exacerbated racial maternal health disparities and has specifically worsened Black maternal health.
Understanding the distinct consumer needs of different consumer segments is fundamental to engaging with individuals who experience financial vulnerability and stigma as they approach a post-pandemic financial recovery. Organizations can help to play an important role in supporting customers with their personal financial recovery.
Low-income women of color in America bear the weight of racism, sexism and classism – both in their interactions with other people, and more insidiously, baked into the nation’s policies, systems and cultural assumptions. Â
Our care systems, deeply rooted in racial and gender inequities for those providing paid and unpaid care work, are in need of an overhaul.
Having access to affordable child care is essential to having labor force participation from women, who, due to sexist societal and traditional gender roles combined with lower wages than men, struggle between workforce participation or the care and education of their children.
Entrepreneurship is not a successful venture without the right tools. One of these tools is access to credit – the money needed to start a business, expand or deal with ebbs and flows in revenue.
Overrepresentation in consumer-facing jobs, poverty and lack of wealth are all aspects that put women of color in high levels of physical and financial danger during the COVID-19 pandemic.Â
Over the coming weeks, we’ll publish essays from NCRC staff, members, local leaders and national partners who can give a voice to the concerns, issues and solutions for women, specifically Black, indigenous and women of color, who have been living through and managing this health and economic crisis for the past year.Â
