Black women are being pushed out of the U.S. workforce at alarming rates—and it’s not by choice. In this powerful episode of Toot or Boot, host Stacey Nordwall sits down with workplace equity expert T. Tara Turk-Haynes and communications leader and career strategist Cassandra Babilya to unpack how federal job cuts, dismantled DEI programs, and systemic neglect have created an economic crisis that reveals much more than the headlines. Together, they explore what this moment says about the state of work, leadership, and allyship—and what HR and business leaders can actually do to respond.

Takeaways

Black women’s unemployment rate has surged past 7%, the highest of any demographic group.
Federal job cuts are erasing a long-standing path to middle-class stability for Black workers.
The dismantling of DEI programs has disproportionately removed Black women from leadership roles.
“Economic canary in the coal mine”: what happens to Black women first eventually affects everyone.
Many former DEI and HR professionals are now turning to entrepreneurship out of necessity, not choice.
Fear of “job hugging” and retaliation may be stifling allyship inside organizations.
Mutual aid and microgrants are emerging as critical lifelines for displaced workers.
Business leaders must proactively assess who’s being most affected by layoffs and hiring freezes.
Individual action—referrals, donations, advocacy—still matters when sustained collectively.
True allyship means staying present, vocal, and engaged when it’s no longer convenient.

Chapters

00:00 – Opening: Black women and federal job cuts set the stage.
05:47 – Cassandra’s “gong” moment: realizing this isn’t a blip.
07:15 – Tara on being “pushed” into entrepreneurship.
10:35 – Why the silence from supposed allies feels like betrayal.
13:55 – The rise of Black women entrepreneurs as a survival strategy.
17:05 – Understanding why Black women are the canary in the coal mine.
21:09 – How layoffs in HR and DEI deepen inequality across the workforce.
29:10 – The erosion of collective bravery and the rise of isolation.
35:50 – Mutual aid and community action in the face of federal cuts.

43:22 – The call to HR: prove you’re human resources, not corporate defense.

Resources:

https://fortune.com/2025/08/15/black-female-leadership-future-ceos-erased-dei/

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/27/nx-s1-5349442/black-federal-employees-trump-cuts

https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/05/agencies-majority-women-and-minority-workforces-are-some-hardest-hit-trump-staff-cuts-new-report-finds/405179/

https://19thnews.org/2025/07/black-women-unemployment-jobs-warning-sign/

https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/business-culture/300000-black-women-left-labor-force-3-months-s-not-coincidence-rcna219355

https://time.com/7315624/rising-unemployment-black-women-economy/

https://www.epi.org/blog/whats-behind-rising-unemployment-for-black-workers/

https://www.sheenmagazine.com/relief-is-resistance-the-state-of-women-relief-fund/