The First Working Mothers: Black Women and Forced Labor

“A more inclusive and truthful understanding of the working mother in America requires centering the experiences of marginalized individuals, specifically Black mothers.”
- Renée Omolade

As a founder of Listen to Your Mothers and a Black woman, I have a personal obligation to consistently consider the full and accurate history of working mothers in America. As we began our research for our most recent report, I immediately noticed the erasure of centuries of forced labor endured by Black women since their arrival on American soil. This invisible labor was more disheartening as I considered our significant contributions to the nation's economic prosperity. Black mothers carry an overwhelming burden of maintaining the American economy as both consumers and workers. However, if you do a quick internet search for "first working women in America" you’ll see many articles highlighting the experiences of white women entering the workforce during the 1920’s; a narrative which contrasts the historical reality, perpetuating a dangerous and inaccurate portrayal of the American workforce.

The history of Black mothers in the workforce

One of the values that I live by is Sankofa, a Ghanaian term that urges us to go back and learn from our past. In order to understand the challenges of working mothers today, we must examine our history. This begins with acknowledging the critical role that Black women, and particularly Black mothers, have played in building the economic engine of the United States.
The role of Black women in our economy originated with the founding of our country through slavery and forced labor.

“As their own families were torn apart, enslaved women were tasked with feeding and caring for the children of slave masters. The women were stripped of their identity in order to assume roles like mammy, roles that persisted well beyond the formal end of slavery in 1865. (Family Values @ Work)"

The Black Codes of 1865 mandated forced labor under exploitative conditions, with minimal to no pay, for those who were formerly enslaved. This system relegated Black women to low-wage earning roles, marginalizing them within the workforce, and explicitly took away the option for Black mothers to stay at home with their own children, while often forcing them into jobs caring for children who were not their own.

Implications on present day working mothers

The legacy of these codes continues to be seen today, as evidenced by higher representation of Black mothers in the workforce, as compared to their white counterparts, significant pay gaps, a disproportionate burden of childcare costs, and an overrepresentation in low-wage, undervalued - yet critical - jobs and industries.

We cannot ignore these statistics:

• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Black mothers, not surprisingly now that we know the history, are more likely to participate in the labor force (76.0 percent) than White mothers (71.3 percent), Asian mothers (64.3 percent), or Hispanic mothers (62.8 percent).
• According to our Working Mothers Speak: 2023 Report, Black mothers are more likely to experience a significant impact on their career after having kids.
• They also continue to face significant gaps in pay, taking in only 52 cents to every dollar a white father earns, according to the National Women’s Law Center.
• Black mothers are 40% more likely than fathers to report childcare issues harmed their careers, particularly impacting Black mothers who spend on average 56% of their income on childcare compared to 42% for Latina moms and 26% for white moms.

Where do we go from here

The struggles of working black mothers reflect the foundation upon which the experiences of all working mothers in the United States are built. We must reevaluate the historical narrative surrounding working women in America and consider how working conditions today may reinforce systemic oppression that Black mothers face in the workforce and we encourage you to take action.

Actions for Employers

Here are some actions that we recommend:

• Regularly examine and measure your compensation data by race, gender, and parenting status, to eliminate gaps
• Offer comprehensive and flexible benefits, such as childcare benefits, paid family leave, sick time, vacation and medical leave
• Ensure that employee policies are equitably implemented
• Adopt inclusive hiring practice and examine unconscious bias when hiring
  

Need Help Getting Started?

As an organization that values targeted universalism, Listen to Your Mothers’ co-founders acknowledge and center our work by understanding those who are most oppressed. When we affirm, “Listen to Your Mothers”, we are empowering employers and managers to listen to the women who are most systematically oppressed while balancing motherhood and continue to show up everyday. Listen to Your Mothers offers employers in-depth assessment services, consultation on policy and benefits package development and implementation support, and training for senior leaders, managers, HR leaders to attract and retain top talent. Reach out today to learn more.