2 in 5 Black Women Have Left A Job Due To Feeling Unsafe, Finds Report
EXHALE, a well-being app for Black women and women of color, shared its findings from a report that almost 2 in 5 (36%) Black women have left their jobs because they felt unsafe.
The State of Self-Care for Black Women report
EXHALE recently published its “The State of Self-Care for Black Women” report based on its survey of 1,005 Black women in the U.S.
The report states that while diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are expected in institutions today, fostering safe spaces for Black women requires more specific resources to focus on their mental and emotional well-being.
According to the survey, 77% of Black women believe there is a need for more well-being tools and resources tailored to support their specific needs.
“As Black Women, we’re surrounded with messages telling us we’re strong and resilient enough to manage stress, but this survey proves that a lack of necessary support negatively impacts us,” Katara McCarty, founder of EXHALE, shared with ESSENCE.
Well-Being in the workplace
The report highlighted the extent to which Black women feel unsupported in the workplace. Of the Black women surveyed, nearly 40% have left a job due to feeling unsafe in their identity, and 66% say they overexert themselves to excel in the workplace.
Half of the women indicated their workplace had no company culture of inclusivity for Black women.
Another half said today’s work environments do not provide safe spaces for Black women to share their feelings and discuss their stresses.
Additionally, almost 50% said they feel pressure to change negative stereotypical views of Black women in the workplace.
When asked about the resources provided for them in the workplace, only 24% claimed to have training on decreasing workplace stress, only 27% had open communication about workplace stress for Black Women, and 16% said work groups for Black women were provided.
When asked what resources are provided to Black Women in the workplace, 46% selected “none of the above”.
“Black Women cannot fully heal without being fully seen,” said McCarty.
“We need culturally appropriate resources and tools that address the effects of racial trauma on mental, emotional, and physical health.”
