Layoffs hit Black women hardest
Reporting shows Black women are shouldering a disproportionate share of recent tech layoffs as companies restructure for AI—raising fresh concerns about the rollback of DEI programs and equity in rehiring/upskilling. (discernmoney.com)
The Economic Policy Institute found Black women’s employment‑to‑population ratio fell 1.4 percentage points to 55.7% in 2025, one of the sharpest one‑year declines in the last 25 years. (epi.org) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics household data showed Black women lost about 106,000 jobs in April 2025— the largest single‑month decline for any demographic group. (bls.gov) Independent tallies and media reporting put combined job losses for Black women at roughly 300,000 between February and April 2025 while the overall economy added jobs over the same period. (thegrio.com) Major tech firms accelerated headcount cuts while pivoting to AI initiatives, with multiple outlets documenting thousands of layoffs tied to restructuring for artificial‑intelligence priorities. (cbsnews.com) Corporate DEI commitments shifted sharply in 2025—Google announced it would drop diversity hiring targets in early February 2025, and industry trackers listed scores of companies publicly scaling back DEI programs that had previously supported hiring and retention of underrepresented employees. (cnbc.com) Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, led by Rep. Barbara Lee, formally raised concerns with the Department of Labor about disproportionate tech layoffs among Black workers, citing the pattern in letters and requests for investigation. (techcrunch.com) Workplace analytics from Visier/Axios show firms are increasingly rehiring some previously laid‑off staff even as fewer than one‑quarter of companies tie retraining pipelines to guaranteed placements, a gap that research and reporting say leaves Black workers at higher risk of long‑term earnings losses after displacement. (techspot.com)
