When is this day celebrated? National Cherish Black Women Day is held on October 15th of each calendar year.
What is National Cherish Day: A Holiday for Black Women? October 15th is a day that CurlMix would like to set aside to Cherish and honor all Black Women. This would be a time to celebrate black women of all ages, backgrounds, and stages in their careers and personal lives for their contributions – now and throughout history. As the CEO of an MWBE, this is especially important to me. There were many people who helped me rise to the level of success I and my business have achieved, but my black, female mentors were the most instrumental in boosting and supporting me.
Why was this day created? Black women have often been considered to have the lowest rank in society. From health to business to politics and beyond, black women have consistently been under-represented and not valued appropriately.
On average, Black women are currently paid only 63 cents for every dollar paid to a non-Hispanic white man. For full-time working Black women, this amounts to a median wage gap of $2,009 a month, $24,110 a year, and $964,400 over a 40-year career, compared to white men, according to the National Women’s Law Center.
Based on a 2020 study from Lean In and McKinsey and Company, black women, who seek promotions at the same rate as white men, are only 58 percent as likely to be promoted to a managerial position, and only 64 percent as likely to be hired into such positions.
Though nearly half of women-owned businesses in the United States, or 44%, are controlled by minority women, in 2018 and 2019, Black women founders accounted for just 0.27% of the $276.7 billion in startup funding raised by all companies in those years as tracked by Pitchbook.
The Journal of Women’s Health states that research has consistently documented the continued impacts of systematic oppression, bias, and unequal treatment of Black women. Substantial evidence exists that racial differences in socioeconomic (e.g., education and employment) and housing outcomes among women are the results of segregation, discrimination, and historical laws purposed to oppress Blacks and women in the United States.
According to research published by the American Psychological Association, black women are often less likely to be associated with the concept of a “typical woman” and are viewed as more similar to Black men than to White women, which may lead to some antiracist and feminist movements failing to advocate for the rights of Black women.
Further, black women throughout history have not been properly credited or cited for all of their many contributions and are rarely given the recognition they deserve for their accomplishments.
How should this day be celebrated or observed?
- Take this day to do something special for the black women in your life.
- As a black woman, take some time to appreciate your own accomplishments and reflect on the importance of your life’s challenges and how you’ve moved past them.
- Send a special thank-you note or gift to the black women in your lives that have inspired you, encouraged you or helped you.
- Share the page of an outstanding black-woman-owned business you know.
- Support a black-woman-owned business.
- Post about past and present black women who are doing phenomenal things!
Who created this Day? This day was created by Curlmix in December 2021. Curlmix