According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Black women ages 20 and over rose to 6.2% in May, outpacing the national average of 4.2%. According to Bloomberg News, over the past year, the percentage of Black women working in the federal government has plummeted by nearly a third.
Since January of 2025, these disparities have been compounded by attacks on public benefits, anti-discrimination enforcement, and the federal workforce. In the effort to dismantle the federal government, the administration has targeted numerous agencies where women and people of color make up a majority of workers, and Black women have been disproportionately harmed by these cuts. At the same time, this administration has ended government contract employment opportunities, and attacked the very diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the workplace that strengthen the American workforce.
At a time when Black women are facing rising costs and rising unemployment, this administration is continuing to dismantle the tools that help ensure everyone can access job opportunities without facing discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency tasked with protecting workers from discrimination, has already rolled back rules and guidelines that help reduce barriers to opportunity. Now, the agency is moving to stop collecting workforce demographic data that has been helping to fight discrimination since 1966.
These data, referred to as EEO-1 data, support efficient enforcement of civil rights laws, guide evidence-based policymaking, and help employers evaluate their own practices and expand access to qualified talent. Rescinding the EEO-1 data collection would eliminate one of the federal government’s most important transparency and accountability tools, making it significantly harder to detect and address systemic inequities.
This loss would be especially harmful for Black women, who experience intersecting forms of race and gender discrimination that are often only visible through comprehensive data. Without EEO-1 data, disparities affecting Black women in hiring, occupational segregation, and pay will be harder to identify, measure, and remedy, further entrenching inequities that already suppress wages and limit opportunity.
We urge the Commission to abandon its proposed rescission of the EEO-1 data collection and preserve this critical tool for enforcing civil rights and advancing workplace equity.
Congress also has a role to play. We call on lawmakers to pass legislation aligned with the Working Women’s Bill of Rights, which affirms the fundamental right of all women to equal pay, pay transparency, safe workplaces free from discrimination and harassment, access to affordable health care, paid leave, child care, fair scheduling, and the ability to organize for better working conditions. Congress has a duty to strengthen, not weaken, the systems that protect working women and ensure economic security for all.