Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
By Kate Tepe
The Women’s Fund
The Women’s Fund has released a report outlining the historic and contemporary barriers preventing Black women from economic self-sufficiency.
In the Greater Cincinnati area, Black female workers’ median annual earnings were approximately $24,100 in 2018. That means this group makes on average 36 percent lower than median annual earnings across all workers in the area. The Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation wanted to understand why exactly there was such a large discrepancy and has spent the last two years working with key partners to conduct a deep dive into why this occurs.
This research project aligns directly with the Economic Development and Political Awareness & Involvement Programmatic Thrusts of the Cincinnati Alumnae & Cincinnati Queen City Alumnae Chapters of Delta Sigma Theta, in addition to the Delta Gateway Foundation so much that they have collectively provided funding to support the release of this report.
“It is our hope that once armed with this information we can elevate our economic programming and more effectively address economic mobility within our community,” says Mia Sears President, Cincinnati Queen City Alumnae Chapter
The Women’s Fund will examine the current economic factors and external conditions to economic mobility for Black women, with the goal to drive specific solutions and policy changes to improve the economic reality for women of color in our area. This research project will be delivered in a three-part release throughout 2020 -2021:
- A literature review examining the historical roots of occupational segregation, compensation and gender norms in the job sector.
- A quantitative analysis to take a deeper dive into these jobs to establish a baseline of their current economic status in our community. The analysis will examine occupations, wages, education, entrepreneurship, debt and the current economic mobility track for Black women.
- A series of interviews with dozens of Black women in the Cincinnati area at all socioeconomic levels to understand how we can best build with their strengths to achieve more economic mobility.
This research project will guide the Women’s Fund, these three entities and other community partners, as gender and racial equity continues to be a focus in the Cincinnati region.
“We are so grateful for the support of Delta Sigma Theta and the Delta Gateway Foundation,” said Meghan Cummings, executive director of the Women’s Fund. “Uncovering this information, will help us continue to strengthen the ecosystem for women in Greater Cincinnati.”
The Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation leads our community in ensuring the economic self-sufficiency of women in our region. Through leadership, research and policy advocacy, the Women’s Fund works to identify and address the barriers affecting working women and their families. Learn more and get involved at www.cincinnatiwomensfund.org