Across the United States, unemployment continues to hit Black communities harder than the general population. While the national unemployment rate remains around 4–4.5%, unemployment for Black Americans is nearly double that, hovering around 7–7.5%. Black women leading in policy spaces. But within those numbers is an even more troubling story. Black women are experiencing one of the sharpest employment setbacks in recent years. In 2025 alone: Black women lost approximately 113,000 jobs...

In Pennsylvania, the state budget determines how public dollars are invested in the systems that shape our daily lives: schools, health care, mental health services, childcare, housing, transportation, workforce development, and community supports. Every budget line reflects a decision about whose needs are prioritized, whose voices are heard, and whose futures are protected. For Black women and our communities, these decisions are not abstract. They are deeply personal.