Multiple forms of racism have harmed African American women’s sexual and reproductive health, including discriminatory medical practices that stretch back to slavery and have lasted into the post-Civil Rights period. Studies, on the other hand, do not take into account how racism’s historical roots affect African American women’s health now. Despite significant progress in ensuring equal access to healthcare for African American women, these historical characteristics offer an underdeveloped basis for understanding the modern epidemiology of sexual and reproductive health inequities (Prather et al.,2018).
Racism is a difficult subject to approach. It may provoke defensiveness, rage, and hate just as easily as it can produce empathy, care, and compassion. Depending on our life experiences, self-awareness, and critical consciousness, as well as our social status, each of us approaches racism in a unique way. When it comes to racism, we must be empathetic and alert, hold off on emotional responses so that we can see the world through the eyes of others, and remember that we are all members of the same human community.
As a consequence of their skin tone, children and teenagers face a number of realities. Age, gender, sexual orientation, financial status, and religion all intertwine in our lives. Racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, and religious intolerance all have a significant effect on communities, especially those who have been historically discriminated against.
Despite the fact that overt acts of racial hatred are generally recognized and condemned nowadays, racism still exists in our culture (Landor & McNeil Smith, 2019). Our institutions, everyday contacts, and subconscious memories all include traces of it, in addition to what we may notice via our own personal behaviors.
Racism has left scars on all of our youth, but this is especially true for people of color whose forefathers were historically oppressed. In today’s professional roles, networks, mentors, and contacts, for example, are vital. According to research, black women are more likely than white women to aspire to succeed in their careers, but they are also less likely to locate mentors who can help them along the way. Wage differences based on race and gender are a part of my everyday existence, and they reflect the nuances of my experiences. Black women, white women and Black men have a wide range of wage discrepancies, especially when compared to white women and white men (Prather et al.,2018).
Experts believe that the race-gender pay gap is more nuanced than the sum of the disparities’ individual facts. As a result of how race and gender are seen together, it has a significant impact. No one has it harder or more tough than black women. As a group, we are overrepresented in low-wage employment. Nobody can hire or promote us as quickly as we can. Because we are often the only black woman in the room, we are subjected to more subtle and frequent microaggressions than other women of color. Women are also underpaid in comparison to males and the majority of other female groups (Landor & McNeil Smith, 2019).
Despite the fact that Black women’s employment is critical to their families’, communities’, and economy’s well-being, they face unique hurdles in the workplace and society that limit their potential. Inequities in Black women’s pay are exacerbated by racial and gender stereotypes, opinions on the relative value of labour, segregated workplaces, resistance to structural change, and other linked factors (Prather et al.,2018). As a result, the contributions of black women’s labour are underestimated. In order for equal pay laws to be successful, new procedures and changes must be implemented to directly address these problems.
References
Landor, A. M., & McNeil Smith, S. (2019). Skin-tone trauma: Historical and contemporary influences on the health and interpersonal outcomes of African Americans. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(5), 797-815.
Prather, C., Fuller, T. R., Jeffries IV, W. L., Marshall, K. J., Howell, A. V., Belyue-Umole, A., & King, W. (2018). Racism, African American women, and their sexual and reproductive health: a review of historical and contemporary evidence and implications for health equity. Health equity, 2(1), 249-259.
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