People of Color in Tech reported, “In past business cycles, Black workers have been the last to be hired during expansions and first fired during contractions, so an increase in the Black unemployment rate is eye-catching to forecasters,” from Comerica Bank.

But if you look closely, we are represented in every industry where layoffs occur.

DEI Is Under Fire

Last summer, we saw three high-profile Black female Hollywood executives who happened to be DEI chiefs at major studios (Netflix, Warner Brothers Discovery, Disney) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences all lose their jobs over a ten-day period. According to Inc., companies including Zoom, Snap, Meta, Tesla, DoorDash, Lyft, Home Depot, and Wayfair cut DEI teams amid broader layoff plans. Even hospitals, like Johns Hopkins, bowed to the pressure, which led to the departure of Dr. Sherita Golden.

Tech Layoffs Hit Us Hard Too

According to Layoff. Fyi, in 2023, 1186 tech companies laid off 262,682 employees, and so far this year, 168 tech companies have already laid off 42,324. Although we only make up about 7% of the tech workforce, the layoffs disproportionately impacted us. Surprised, no. Okay, neither were we.

Last winter, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and the CBC sent a letter to the acting US Secretary of Labor,  Julie Su. “We write to express our concerns with recent reports highlighting the impacts of widespread layoffs within the tech industry and its disproportionate impacts on the African American community and women,” the group wrote.

Bloomberg News revealed “that people of color accounted for 94% of new hires at the US’ largest public companies in the year after the Black Lives Matter protests.” The latest findings show that organizations find a way to do it when pressured to hire and promote qualified, diverse talent.

Our take: sometimes, these moves are performative. You can tell when companies revoke programs when no one after a few years.

Others find the environment less than ideal and are happy to leave when the time comes. “Black people, especially Black women, have reported experiencing discrimination and bias in the tech industry, which can impact their career advancement and overall job satisfaction.” according to Forbes. They choose entrepreneurship instead.

The Healthcare Sector Took a Hit, Too

According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the healthcare category, which includes hospitals, medical technology, health insurers, and medical clinics, cut 58,560 jobs last year. An almost 100% increase over the year before. This year, Pfizer, Thermo Fisher Scientific,  Sanofi, Catalent, GSK, and Novartis will all restructure or reduce staff. And the healthcare industry employs more than 23% of Black women or more than one in five of us.

The Incredible Shrinking Media Business

Paramount handed out pink slips to over 800 employees across Paramount+ and Showtime. BET, Nickelodeon, and all their other networks. Sports Illustrated’s editorial team was gutted. Vice Media shut down, laying off hundreds of workers. And more than 3,000 jobs this year, plus those coming from Condé Nast. (Add that to the 21,400 media jobs lost last year).

Watch Out For a Change of Mood

When you are unemployed for a period of time, you may develop a form of situational depression. According to Medical News Today, symptoms might include:

• Feelings of emptiness, sadness, or hopelessness
• decreased interest in favorite activities
• irritability or frustration
• reduced energy levels or motivation
• appetite or weight changes
• sleeping more or less than usual
• forgetfulness or indecisiveness

Additional Symptoms can include:

• low self-esteem
• reduced focus and motivation
• feelings of stress, anxiety, or overwhelm

(Financial stress may trigger symptoms)

Consider Entrepreneurship

However, as we are pushed out of lucrative positions, many of us have no choice but to try entrepreneurship. According to The Brookings Institute, between 2017 and 2020, the number of Black women-owned businesses increased by nearly 20%, far exceeding the growth of women-owned and Black-owned businesses.

If you decide to strike out your own, check out serial entrepreneur Kathryn Finney’s tips on avoiding entrepreneurial overwhelm.

The post Why Are Black Women Losing Their Jobs? appeared first on Black Health Matters.

Start With a Simple Idea

Just because you have an idea you love, you shouldn’t necessarily invest your life savings right away. Finney, the author of Build the Damn Thing: How to Start a Successful Business, says, “The”best way to know if your idea is good is to create a very simple version of the idea and put it out there for real feedback from potential customers.

She further explains, “That feedback will give you a sense of whether there is a valid market for your idea before you spend a lot of time and money on it. You can then use that feedback to iterate on your idea and make it even better with the confidence of knowing that your idea creates a solution that people will pay for.”

Develop a Set of Core Values

According to Finney, the first year of business can be overwhelming, especially if this is your first company. “You can get so caught up in all the initial steps you need to transform your idea into a viable product that you forget that you also have to have a sustainable way to keep making that product,” she explains. You may have been so focused on how to raise the money you needed that you neglected to set up financial management systems to keep track of the money as it comes in so that you can manage it better. Or maybe you concentrated so much on hiring the right people that you haven’t thought about how they will all work together to help you execute your vision.”

“Instead of getting overwhelmed by present challenges, she suggests having a long-term strategy. “When I was starting Genius Guild, one of the first things I did was to create a set of core values, which served as a kind of North Star, for what I wanted my company to be,” she explains. “By having those values to fall back on, I was able to make sure I kept my focus on the next few years of my company rather than just the next two weeks.”

The Risk and Reward of Entrepreneurship

When someone decides to start a business, they are taking a risk. However, there are creative rewards that are immeasurable. “Building your own company is a way to have a creative life you control. Imagine creating something you truly believe in, watching it succeed beyond your wildest dreams, and then getting paid for the value you’ve created,” Finney says.”That’s the promise of building your own damn thing. For me, deciding what to do with my capital and money from time to time was very liberating and worth the risk of possible failure.”

Personally, Finney loves running her current company. “I also love that running my own venture firm, Genius Guild, allows me to look for investment opportunities that are solid businesses that also contribute to the betterment of the community they serve. I want to help build a world where everyone can win, and creating Genius Guild allows me to do just that.

Smart, Successful Entrepreneurs Have Balanced Lives

Finney stresses that entrepreneurship is hard. It’s It’s easy, tough, or exhausting. And because it’s hard, losing yourself entirely in your company can be tempting. She says to decide that you don’t have time for your personal well-being, health, or family because you feel like all you should be doing is working.

This is a recipe for disaster. Remember that the company will not be good if you’re not good. So, taking time to get yourself in a good place is the most important thing you can do to ensure your company’s success before you build it.

“Smart, successful entrepreneurs have no problem spending time on their mental and spiritual health because they know that getting their mind right is crucial to getting their company right,” she” says. That means finding what works for you, getting home for dinner at night, getting to the gym, and practicing consistent meditation.

Finney says, “Because you are the hub of your company, your self-care is also your company’s self-care.”

The post Kathryn Finney’s Tips For Avoiding Entrepreneurial Overwhelm appeared first on Black Health Matters.