By McKenzie Jackson | California Black Media
A new report reveals that while Black women in California face some of the steepest inequities in wages, health, and housing, they also display remarkable strength through high civic engagement and community leadership.
Black women in California earn just 60 cents for every dollar paid to White men — a gap so wide it won’t close until 2121 if current trends continue.
That statistic headlines the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute’s (CBWCEI) newly released “2025 State of Black Women in California report,” a sweeping analysis of disparities in education, health, housing, and economic mobility.
CBWCEI President and CEO Kellie Todd Griffin says the findings aren’t meant to shock — they’re meant to spark action.
“The data gives us direction,” she said. “The lived experiences of Black women give us urgency. We publish this report to push people.”
The 21-page report, authored by Griffin and research director Dr. Astrid Williams, was unveiled during a Nov. 12 online briefing.
The report examines the realities facing California’s 1.2 million Black women and girls across critical areas, including education; economic mobility; health indicators and disparities; housing and environmental justice; violence and safety; the underfunding of Black women-led organizations and political power; and civic engagement.
Based in Carson, CBWCEI also calls for future research to include more and updated demographic analyses.
Speakers during the video conference included California Black Women’s Health Project CEO Sonya Young Aadam; EVITARUS Managing Partner Dr. Shakari Byerly; Jeness Center President Karen Earl; Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell; and Mount Saint Mary’s University Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships Vice President Dr. Krishauna Hines-Gaither.
Mitchell recalled a time she handed out meals to several single Black mothers at a food drive at Magic Johnson Park in Los Angeles.
“It’s real out here in these streets with what Black women are facing,” Mitchell said before noting the report reveals “how we as Black women continue to carry the weight of failed systems that frankly were never truly designed to meet our needs.”
According to the report, 25% of the California’s Black women and girls live below the federal poverty line, which is double the rate of White women.
Over 80% of Black households in the state are led by women who are the primary breadwinner. However, Black women are twice as likely to be unhoused as White women. Black women are also evicted at nearly double the rate of any other group in Los Angeles County — home to over 454,000 Black women.
Mitchell equated eviction to felony conviction for Black men.
“It follows you everywhere, and it changes the entire arc of a life,” she explained. “When Black women can’t access stable housing or childcare, families fall into crisis. That’s not an individual problem. That’s a systems’ problem.”
Regarding health, Black women have elevated rates of hypertension, stroke, and diabetes, with social stressors such as racism, poverty, and caregiving burdens as key contributors. Eighty percent of Black women have health insurance but still suffer from higher rates of chronic illness such as diabetes or heart disease. One in three delay care due to cost.
Black women in California have a 41% obesity rate, and their rates of STI and HIV are five times higher than that of White women.
According to CBWCEI, Black women are up to six times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. Additionally, teen birth rates have declined among Black girls, but remain higher than the state average due to structural inequities in economic support, education, and health.
“We live at the intersection of the best and worst — unmatched resilience and unacceptable health disparities,” Aadam said. “The systems designed to care for us were not designed with us in mind and often work against us.”
Her organization combats these disparities through culturally rooted programs.
The report shared results of a recent survey of Black women conducted by EVITARUS that found 56% for respondents experienced discrimination at work, with 70% experiencing microaggressions. Additionally, 55% were victims of discrimination while shopping.
One survey participant said, “As a dark-skinned woman, I noticed women who are lighter are given passes and darker women are treated harsher in similar situations.”
Despite these challenges, the findings weren’t all bleak. Black women in California vote at higher rates than any other group. Three Black women represent the state in Congress, nine serve in the legislature, and 243 hold local government leadership positions, including six county supervisors and two mayors.
Byerly noted this contrast.
“Although we have some of the highest hurdles to climb, we actually over-index as it relates to civic engagement and civic participation in other ways,” she said. “Over two-thirds in our recent survey say they have donated money, time, and have volunteered in the face of natural disasters, wildfires, and ICE raids. They have provided childcare to their neighbors and family members. They are housing their loved ones.”
Black women, Byerly explained, are “net contributors.”
“We are working more than one job,” she stated. “We are sheltering others. We are providing a good portion of the social safety net when government and philanthropy are failing.”
The report calls for expanded research and lists policy recommendations, including expanding Black maternal health initiatives, increasing investment in Black women-led businesses and groups, expanding STEM and leadership pipeline programs in schools, broadening pay-transparency and equity laws, and mandating disaggregated pay transparency by race and gender.
Griffin said progress is happening, but too slowly.
“When we invest in Black women here, we set a national standard,” she said. “If we improve conditions for Black women in California, we improve the trajectory for Black women across the country.”
