Pressley Has Sounded the Alarm on Pushout of Black Women from Workforce Under Trump, Demanded Action from Federal Reserve

On Monday, Pressley to Hold Timely Discussion in Boston on Unemployment Crisis Impacting Black Women, Black Families, and Black Futures

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement after the Trump Administration finally released the September jobs report revealing a 7.5% unemployment rate for Black women. In Congress, Rep. Pressley has repeatedly sounded the alarm on the rising number of Black women forced out of the workforce in the United States and called on the Federal Reserve to take action.

“These numbers are damning and confirm what we’ve long known to be true: under Donald J. Trump, Black women continue to face a crisis of disproportionately high unemployment—a direct result of Trump’s reckless mass firings, a growing affordability crisis, and relentless attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives. As the primary breadwinners for many households, Black women are the backbones of our families and our economy, and their systematic pushout not only has dangerous consequences for Black women, Black families, Black futures—it is also a glaring red flag for the entire U.S. economy,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. “The occupant of the White House must end his racist and fiscally irresponsible economic policies that are destabilizing our communities and harming our economy. The Department of Labor must continue to collect and publish monthly job numbers. And the Federal Reserve must take urgent action to address this crisis. We cannot and will not allow Trump and Republicans’ anti-Black, anti-woman agenda to erase Black women and our contributions from the workforce.”

In September, Congresswoman Pressley wrote to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sounding the alarm on the rising unemployment rate for Black women in the United States and demanding the Fed take immediate action to uphold its mandate of maximum employment for all. The Congresswoman’s letter comes as the Trump Administration’s mass federal workforce layoffs and anti-DEI policies disproportionately impact Black women and as Donald Trump attempts to seize control of the Fed by illegally firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

A copy of the Congresswoman’s letter is available here.

Later in September, Congresswoman Pressley convened a press conference with a coalition of Black women activists and civil rights leaders to continue sounding the alarm on the rising number of Black women forced out of the workforce in the United States.

Rep. Pressley has consistently advocated for race-conscious policies to help close the racial wealth gap in America, uplift Black, brown, and other marginalized communities.

• Building on the legacy of Black women in the civil rights movement, Rep. Pressley led a historic resolution calling for a federal job guarantee.  
• In a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Congresswoman Pressley questioned Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on the issue of full employment and the Civil Rights history of the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate. Powell conceded, for the first time in Federal Reserve history and on the Congressional record, that the Fed alone cannot get the United States to full employment.
• Congresswoman Pressley, along with Senator Cory Booker, is the lead co-sponsor of the American Opportunity Accounts Act—also known as Baby Bonds—legislation that would create a federally-funded savings account for every American child in order to make economic opportunity a birthright for every child and help close the racial wealth gap.
• Rep. Pressley introduced the Equity in Government Act to codify racial equity across federal agencies and improve government services for underserved communities.
• Rep. Pressley has also called on the five largest banks in America to provide a detailed update on the racial equity commitments the institutions made following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
• Rep. Pressley was also a leading voice in Congress urging President Biden to cancel student debt. Following years of advocacy by Rep. Pressley—in partnership with colleagues, borrowers, and advocates like the NAACP—the Biden-Harris Administration announced a historic plan to cancel student debt that stands to benefit over 40 million people.

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