Black women are paid less and experience higher maternal mortality rates, according to report

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At the intersection of racism and gender inequality, Black Ohio women are most likely to be harmed by systems that are currently in place, according to a new report.  

Policy Matters of Ohio recently released a report called ‘Black women can thrive in Ohio’ that demonstrates how low pay, limited health care and the criminal justice system can “combine to reinforce poor health and economic outcomes for Black women.”

“It’s really just driving the point that Black women face multiple intersections,” said Tanisha Pruitt, education researcher for Policy Matters Ohio. “You’re Black, but you’re also a woman, and then you have to deal with all these other things within those intersections where we see the greatest disparities.”

“In Ohio and beyond, racially inequitable and so-called colorblind policies have not worked for — and have actively harmed — marginalized communities, largely linked by race and gender,” according to the report. “When harmful policies intersect, as they do too often for Black women, the consequences can be devastating across generations.”

Black women are paid less in Ohio — with a median income of $44,131. White men earn the most with $68,677, then white women with $54,453, followed up by Black men with $50,001, according to the report. 

This is partially due to unequal pay. Black women are more likely to be in low wage jobs such as child care provider or service roles, Pruitt said.

“Across races, women are paid less than their male counterparts … The older women get, the greater the pay disparity between them and their male counterparts,” according to the report. “The pay disparity drives the poverty disparity, and directly drives child poverty, as Black women are more likely than their counterparts to be the sole or primary breadwinner for their families.”

Maternal mortality rates in Ohio are highest for Black women, accounting for 29.5 deaths per 100,000 births in 2022, according to the report. 

Black women have less access to quality healthcare and tend to have caregivers who don’t look like them, Pruitt said.

“There’s a lot of biases within the healthcare profession where the healthcare individuals often … don’t listen to (Black women) when they go to the doctor … so a lot of stuff goes undiagnosed or unrecognized, until you’re in the thick of giving birth, and then all these complications arise. Unfortunately, a lot of women lose their lives because of it.”

She recommends more cultural competency in the healthcare industry.

The report also said that Black mothers are more likely than women of other races to experience postpartum depression but are less likely to receive treatment. 

The Policy Matters listed a handful of policy recommendations. 

• Raising Ohio’s minimum wage. One Fair Wage failed to get on Ohio’s ballot this year, but is already looking ahead to next year’s election. Policy Matters plans on making suggestions to Senate Bill 256, which would raise the minimum wage for non-tipped workers to $15 and tipped to $7.50 by 2028. 

• Creating an Ohio Child Tax Credit and adding a 10% refundable option to Ohio’s Earned Income Tax Credit. 

• Increase pay for childcare providers and workers. 

• Expand access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

• Hire more Black women.

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