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The unemployment rate for Black women stands at nearly 6%, marking the third consecutive month of high rates among the group — an alarming trend economists see as a warning sign for the broader economy. The 19th, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data, reported that the unemployment rate for Black women increased from 5.1% in March to 6.1% in April, peaking at 6.2% in May before decreasing slightly to 5.8% in June. In contrast, rates for white and Asian women stayed near 3%, and around 5% for Latinas. Most male subgroups experienced no change, except for Black men, whose rate increased from 5.2% in May to 6.9% in June. Black women lost 38,000 jobs in April, more than any other demographic. Their unemployment increased by 106,000, AFROTECH™ previously reported. This can be troubling, as Black women have the highest labor force participation of any female group, often working in essential sectors such as health care , education, and the federal government. Jasmine Tucker, VP of...
Cities across the U.S. have a clear opportunity to boost their economies by increasing the number of Black-owned businesses that serve as employers. Recognizing this potential, The Brookings Institution’s Metro Center for Community Uplift initiative is on a mission to help communities, policymakers, and grassroots organizers understand the crucial role of Black entrepreneurship. In June 2025, Brookings launched the Black Business Parity Dashboard. The dashboard shows the number of businesses and jobs, as well as the potential revenue and payroll generated if Black business ownership were to match the Black population in metro areas, according to a Brookings news release. Brookings’ research indicates that Black Americans outperform the national average in entrepreneurial traits tied to business success. However, systemic financial barriers — such as limited access to credit and the long-standing denial of wealth-building opportunities — have hindered growth. Centuries of denying...
It will now be easier for employees to file reverse discrimination lawsuits. This stems from an initial lawsuit filed by Marlean Ames in 2020. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, she had been working at an Ohio government agency managing juvenile corrections until her position was given to a gay man the year before she filed her claim. Ames, a heterosexual white woman, also mentioned a promotion was given to another individual who was lesbian, a person she claims was less qualified. At the time, those from majority backgrounds — such as white, heterosexual, or male individuals — were required to present more evidence than minority individuals s howing proof of discrimination in the workplace. “Title VII aims to eradicate all discrimination in the workplace. But the background circumstances rule doesn’t do that, doesn’t eradicate discrimination,” Ames’ lawyer Xiao Wang told Reuters. “It instructs courts to practice it by sorting individuals into majority and minority groups based on...
Workday is at the center of a collective action lawsuit that alleges its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered hiring tools discriminate against applicants over 40 years old, violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Derek Mobley, a Black, disabled man in his 40s, filed a lawsuit in February 2023, claiming he applied for over 100 jobs without success, according to ITPro. “Despite his qualifications, Mobley was allegedly denied employment for every one of the 100-plus applications that he submitted to companies using Workday’s platform,” the lawsuit states . Workday provides cloud-based software to support businesses’ financial management as well as the hiring process for new employees. Workday’s initial motion to dismiss the case was granted, allowing for amendments to be made. However, the judge later denied its attempt to dismiss the newly amended complaint. A judge ruled on May 16 that Mobley’s age discrimination claims could proceed as a collective action...
The lifeline of a multi-billion-dollar effort to support minority- and women-owned businesses is under investigation. Established in 1983, The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program provides $37 billion in funding to minority- and women-owned businesses, supporting nearly 49,000 “disadvantaged” businesses, The Washington Post reports. But now the Justice Department argues that this program, provided through the Department of Transportation, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The case originated from two Indiana-based transportation companies Mid-America Milling and Bagshaw Trucking, which in 2023 alleged that they lost opportunities when minority- and women-owned businesses were awarded contracts through the “largest, and perhaps oldest affirmative action program in U.S. history.” The DBE program was defended by the Justice Department during former President Joe Biden’s administration, stating that it was essential to combat discrimination in...
A racial bias lawsuit has been settled by Google. According to Reuters, the tech giant had been accused of racial bias against more than 4,000 Black employees in California and New York. Plaintiffs in a proposed 2022 class action lawsuit—stemming from the California Civil Rights Department—claimed that management provided opportunities only for lower-ranked roles, compensated them less, gave lower performance ratings, and denied them opportunities for advancement within the company. They described Google as having a “racially biased corporate culture.” These patterns led April Curley, who no longer works at Google, to file a lawsuit in federal court in San Jose, CA, notes the Los Angeles Times. Curley had been with Google for six years, and her responsibilities included establishing recruiting programs in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities. However, she and other Black women were allegedly not allowed to present during company meetings, and she claimed she...
A plan to empower Chicago, IL-based Black students is now being investigated by the federal government. According to ABC 7, Chicago Public Schools is being investigated by the Trump administration’s Department of Education — led by Linda E. McMahon — for allegedly using racial discrimination in its Black Students Success Plan. The plan is a five-year initiative that was announced during Black History Month 2025 to improve graduation rates and reduce suspensions for Black students, increase hiring of Black teachers, and “combat anti-Blackness” through its curriculums and professional development, notes Chalkbeat-Chicago. “Today’s action by the Trump Administration’s Department of Education, influenced by the right-wing group Defending Education, is yet another attempt to hinder the progress we are striving to achieve,” Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates commented in her statement, according to ABC 7. “Rather than using the Department to create opportunities for...
The majority of Levi Strauss & Co.’s shareholders have voted against anti-DEI proposals. WWD reports the company received a proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research requesting that its shareholders “consider abolishing its DEI program, policies, department and goal.” At a time when other major corporations have rolled back their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in response to President Donald Trump’s efforts to eliminate DEI across the federal government , the proposal referenced that “Alphabet and Meta cut DEI staff and DEI-related investments; and Microsoft and Zoom laid off their entire DEI teams.” Levi’s executives, however, do not believe the company has partaken in discriminatory policies in its recruitment or promotions, according to David Jedrzejek, Levi’s senior vice president and general counsel, per the outlet. Still, Stefan Padfield, executive director of the National Center’s Free Enterprise Project, made a point to mention at the...
A lawsuit stating Google favored white and Asian workers has been settled. According to CNN, Ana Cantu, a former Google employee who identifies as Mexican and racially Indigenous, brought forward a lawsuit that claimed the tech giant offered lower salaries and job levels to those of Hispanic, Latino, Native American, Indigenous, American Indian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Alaska Native employees at Google. It was filed in 2021. In the lawsuit, Cantu said that during her seven-year tenure working in Google’s people operations and cloud departments, she was not given a promotion or salary increase. She alleged that white and Asian workers with the same work performance were promoted and received raises, while other workers who complained about the treatment had these opportunities withheld. Cantu left the company in September 2021, claiming Google did not adhere to the California Equal Pay Act. Additionally, leaked documents showed about 6,632 diverse employees reported...
Researchers have developed algorithms that accurately depict coily Black hair in computer graphics — a historic advancement for Black characters in media. According to The Guardian, AM Darke, an associate professor in the department of performance, play, and design at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Theodore Kim, a professor of computer science at the Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science, co-authored the study. Despite increased representation and numerous papers published on computer graphics algorithms over the past 50 years — particularly regarding hair — Kim noted that representations of Black hair have remained relatively unchanged. Due to a lack of appropriate formulas, animators have struggled to accurately depict textures like type 4C hair , characterized by tightly coiled curls. “There’s only one or two hairstyles that people gravitate towards because they find that it’s culturally approved,” Kim said. “The vast diversity of type four hair is then...
The Supreme Court appears to be in favor of lowering the standard for what is required to prove job discrimination when it comes to people who are white, straight, or male. According to The Washington Post, a discrimination lawsuit had been filed in 2020 by Marlean Ames. She had previously been employed at the Ohio government agency managing juvenile corrections. Ames says her position was given to a young gay man in 2019. Then someone else she considered less qualified later received a promotion that she thought she deserved. Ames is a heterosexual white woman and stated that this person was a lesbian. The lower court did not see enough evidence to prove job discrimination had taken place, therefore it ruled against her. For those from majority backgrounds, more evidence is required to show proof that discrimination in the workplace occurred. However, a ruling in Ames’ favor could lead to more “reverse discrimination” lawsuits, Reuters notes. A strong defense would be that majority...
Seattle, WA-based Starbucks plans to lay off 1,100 corporate support employees as part of an effort to streamline operations and improve efficiency. On Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol announced in a news release that those affected will receive notice on Feb. 25. The decision comes after senior leaders began “evaluating the role, structure, and size” of the coffee chain’s global corporate teams in January. “I recognize the news is difficult. It is not a decision the leadership team took lightly,” Niccol wrote. “We understand the real effect this has on partners’ lives and their families. We believe it’s a necessary change to position Starbucks for future success — and to ensure we deliver for our green apron partners and the customers they serve.” The release noted that the layoffs do not affect Starbucks retail store employees or baristas. While the plan also includes eliminating several hundred additional open and unfilled positions, Niccol said the company will...
A scholarship that provided assistance to HBCU students will no longer exist. In 1992, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created the 1890 National Scholars Program through a collaboration with 1890 land-grant universities, which refer to the 19 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that benefited from resources established by the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, according to Montana State University. The first act was established to ensure broader access to education in agriculture, military tactics, and engineering for the working class, and the second act provided further funding to include HBCUs. As for the 1890 National Scholars Program, it aims to increase representation at these schools by funding students, particularly from rural and underserved communities, i n food, agriculture, natural resource, and other related sciences, according to the USDA website. Recipients benefit from full tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Eligibility requirements...
Meta is being sued for allegedly directly contributing to education inequities in Black communities. A lawsuit filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP on behalf of the Equal Rights Center (ERC) cites that Meta’s algorithm has shown bias by directing ads for for-profit colleges and universities to Black communities. In contrast, more ads featuring public and nonprofit colleges and universities were shown to white users. “Relegating Black students to receive information about for-profit schools, which often provide lower quality education at greater financial cost, also sends a negative message about who belongs in which types of institutions,” a statement from an email sent to AFROTECH™ by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights read. The difference between the two types of institutions is that for-profit colleges focus on generating profits...
Mastercard has agreed to settle a discrimination lawsuit impacting its minority employees. According to a press release, the fintech company had allegedly been underpaying its female, Black, and Hispanic employees. T he class-action lawsuit — which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York — claims 7,500 employees in job levels 4-10 across the United States dating back to September 2016 were impacted. Details in the lawsuit share that the women and people of color received less compensation for conducting equivalent work to their male and white counterparts, the New York Times reports. The major fintech company had agreed to pay a $26 million settlement prior to the lawsuits filing on Jan. 14, 2025. The settlement now awaits approval from the court. “We are very pleased to have reached this nationwide settlement with Mastercard, which we believe represents a fair compromise,” Cara E. Greene, partner at Outten & Golden LLP and lead counsel for the...