The 75 Million Campaign has released Faces of the Forced Out, a video series featuring Black women who say federal workforce cuts and attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) under the Trump administration cost them their jobs.
The series spotlights professionals across public service, education, healthcare, and media who are navigating the financial and professional consequences of losing their livelihoods. The campaign also reflects a broader pattern of economic insecurity facing Black women in the workforce. According to a press release shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE
, 221,000 more Black women were unemployed in December 2025 than in January 2025, representing a 37% increase. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for Black women climbed from 5.4% to 7.3% during 2025 before dropping to 6.8% in September 2026. The National Women’s Law Center also noted continued job losses in the government sector, where women accounted for 11,000 of the 17,000 positions eliminated that month.The campaign also points to disparities in how long unemployed workers remain out of work. Its figures show that unemployed Black women typically spend 15 weeks searching for employment, compared with 10.5 weeks for white women and 11.9 weeks for white men. Additionally, 33.9% of unemployed Black women have been out of work for at least six months.
“These women did everything they were told would lead to job security: They earned their degrees, built careers, and dedicated themselves to public service. Still, they were
pushed out,” said Maya Rupert, the campaign director of the 75 Million Campaign, a national movement launched in 2024 that advocates for equal rights, wages, workplace safety, and economic opportunity for women.She added that the video series aims to put individual experiences behind statistics that can otherwise overlook the people affected by workforce changes.
“The numbers confirm what these women are telling us: Black women are being forced out of work faster and kept out of jobs longer than their peers,” Rupert said.
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