Seeing The Invisible Labors of Black Women

Each year, as Mother’s Day approaches, people make arrangements for gifts, flowers, and gatherings to honor the mothers and mother figures in their lives. A more impactful way to celebrate this holiday, however, is to acknowledge the unjust burdens that women and mothers carry as a whole and work toward removing them. Doing so requires taking a hard look at the inequities in pay, wealth, perceived value, and domestic support that women and women of color in particular experience as undervalued workers and mothers.

Black women are frequently expected to do more with less compensation and fewer resources—in virtually every role they play as human beings—than other women of color and non-Hispanic White women, to say nothing of White men. Below are some of the invisible labors and barriers that Black women face as employees, members of the economy, and mothers.

“You’ve Got To Pay Me”: Black Women in the Workplace

Thankless extra work.  Women in the workplace are 44% more likely than men to be asked to do time consuming, labor-intensive extra tasks that do not result in additional compensation or promotion opportunities. These are often of an “office housework” nature, such as planning office parties for various occasions. Black women are expected to carry out such thankless tasks at an even greater rate. As Michelle Obama once put it, “If you want me to do the job, you’ve got to pay me to do the job and you’ve got to give me flexibility.”

Salary gap. Women as a whole are more likely than men to be hired in the lowest-paying occupations. Their perceived value and pay in the workplace is heavily dependent on the lenses through which gatekeeping managers and coworkers view them. This is referred to as the “glass ceiling” and, more recently, the “female recession.” Both are the result of millenia of patriarchal ideology that stereotypes men as breadwinners and women as domestic caregivers; both are the result of systemically undervaluing and undercompensating “women’s work.” 

Black women fare even worse in this salary gap: as of 2019, Black women were paid only 63% of what non-Hispanic White men were, compared to 83% for all women. To illustrate and remind people of this, there is now what is called a Black Women’s Pay Day. The salary gap has since worsened as a result of the pandemic and associated disproportionate unemployment rates for women of color.

Sexual harassment. Black women also experience workplace sexual harassment at a greater rate than other women. Between 2012 and 2016, Black women filed sexual harassment charges at a rate almost three times that of White, non-Hispanic women. This does not, however, indicate the actual rate at which harassment occurs, since 87-94% of people who experience it do not file formal legal charges. 

“Who Run the World (?)”: Black Mothers in the Economy

Wealth gap and generational poverty. Black women have the highest labor force participation rate of all women, even during the pandemic. Of these, mothers represent even more of the labor force still. Yet the discrepancy in the salaries they receive compared to White men indicates that they also experience the greatest overall wealth gap. It may well be to compensate for this that Black mothers work more hours than women in all other racial groups, leaving considerably less time for them to care for their children and themselves.

Despite the rate at which Black women and mothers participate in the labor force and the additional hours they take on, the wealth gap they face remains significant. In 2019, 22.5% of Black women lived in poverty compared with 9% of White, non-Hispanic women and just 7.1% of White, non-Hispanic men. Over time, this contributes to generational poverty in many Black families.

“Still I Rise”: Black Women as Mothers, Caregivers, and Heads of Households

Disproportionate burdens. Even in the twenty-first century, women in heterosexual relationships as a whole are responsible for the majority of childcare, household chores, and household management. Black women account for at least 60% of households headed by women, the most of any racial group, and the rate of home ownership in this group has increased over the past few decades as well. 

Although increased home ownership means that Black women wield somewhat more economic power than in the past, they also bear more responsibility. The marriage rate has declined across all racial groups over the past few decades, and today, more than two thirds of Black working mothers are single mothers.

Lack of supports. Single mothers have fewer resources for childcare, especially as childcare services are frequently unaffordable even for many two-earner households. Such mothers often also can’t afford to take time off work, which means that they must make significant personal sacrifices in order to both care for their children and pay the bills. 

Vulnerable Health. Black mothers also face the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation due to racism in healthcare and their increased risk of suffering physical violence. Still they rise, as Maya Angelou’s poem affirms, but the pressure to do so in the face of systemic sexism and racism is, in itself, another burden for Black mothers to bear.

Honoring Mothers and Caregivers: Remembering Mary Seacole 

Mary Seacole (1805-1881) was a British Jamaican nurse, hotelier, and traveler who received little acknowledgement or support for her efforts during her lifetime. She is known first for treating cholera victims in Panama, Cuba, and Jamaica in 1852, then for providing comfort and care to convalescing soldiers during the Crimean War from 1854-1856. Her generous efforts were often rejected because of her race, but her perseverance saved and comforted countless people suffering from injury or illness.

Marys Seacole, a drama by Pulitzer Prize winner Jackie Sibblies Drury, is based partly on Seacole’s autobiography. It examines the tropes and roles of women as caregivers through time even as it blurs the lines between past and present. Attending a performance of this play is an excellent way to honor the life of Mary Seacole and the lives of Black women and mothers everywhere.

See Marys Seacole at the Mosaic Theater Company May 4-29, 2022

The Mosaic Theater Company in Washington, DC produces bold, culturally diverse theater that illuminates critical issues, elevates fresh voices, and sparks connections among communities throughout our region and beyond amid the most important events of our times. 

Dedicated to making our theater an inclusive model of diversity at every stratum, on stage and off, Mosaic invests in the new as we keep abreast of our changing and challenging times. We do this to ensure that our theater is a responsive gathering space, all the while nurturing and producing art of the highest order.

From May 4 through May 29, 2022, Mosaic will feature performances of Drury’s MARYS SEACOLE directed by Eric Ruffin. Join us as we follow her extraordinary journey from mid-1800s Jamaica to the frontlines of the Crimean War to a modern-day nursing home.

In our inclusive Neighborhood Nights, we invite our neighbors in northeast and southeast DC to attend dedicated pay-what-you-will Friday evening performances throughout the season. Join us for the Neighborhood Nights performance of MARYS SEACOLE on May 26th!

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