Black women have long been at risk of experiencing poverty, violence, and food and housing insecurity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Black women have suffered job losses and children—especially those among single mother homes—have experienced severe hardship. (1)(2) 

Black women surveyed by the U.S. Census Bureau between March 2020 and April 2021 reported the following: (3)

• 53% of Black women reported their household lost income since the start of the pandemic.
• 24% of Black women expected income losses over the next month.
• 20% of Black women reported not having enough food to eat in the past week.
• 27% of Black women that rent reported being behind on rent

Between 1990 and 2020, the number of Black households with single mothers increased from 3.4 million to 4.3 million. (4)

In 2017, Black mothers were more than twice as likely as white mothers to be their family’s primary breadwinner, and more than 50 percent more likely than Latina mothers. (5)

In 2019, 35% of Black single mothers lived in poverty—exceeded only by Native American single mothers at 43%. (1)

Living with two married parents is a common living arrangement for children of all races except Black children. Fewer than two-fifths of Black children lived with two married parents in 2020. (6)

In 2018, Black women were 2.5 times more likely to be murdered by men than White women. (7)

In 2014, Black women of all ages were twice as likely to be imprisoned as White women. (8)

Quality childcare is unaffordable for many Black women. (9)