In recent years, news around women at work has been bleak—especially for Black women. Unemployment for Black women rose significantly in 2025, moving from 5.4% to a rate of 7.3% by December, as federal job cuts disproportionately hit them. And, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, over 300,000 Black women either left the workforce or were laid off in a period of just three months last year. However, there is a silver lining: Black women are becoming the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States.
According to recent data from Wells Fargo, between 2024 and 2025, Black women-owned employer businesses grew by 13% and their revenue was up almost 6%. Black women-owned businesses without employees grew by 13% and revenue surged by 8%. By comparison, female-owned businesses grew at a rate of 4.4% during the same period of time.
The growth is impressive, but it is driven by a lack of opportunities inside corporations. Aside from current economic woes, AI fears, and rising rates of job insecurity, Black women also face unique challenges—many of which have reached new heights as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts have dimmed significantly since the 2024 election.
Per a previous Wells Fargo report from 2025, Black women earn just 70% as much as white men (white women earn 83%). Similarly, per McKinsey’s 2025 Women in the Workplace report, Black women receive fewer promotions than men. For every 100 men promoted to a manager role, 93 women are promoted, but Black women see the lowest number of promotions. Only 60 Black women are promoted for every 100 men. By comparison, 82 Asian women and 82 Latina women are promoted.
“You don’t see that same loss with Black men, you don’t see that same loss with other groups of women,” Valerie Wilson, a labor economist, told the New York Times of the drastic change. “It was a sharp and unique decline in employment for Black women,” Wilson added.
Krista Norris, PhD, a marriage and family therapist who owns Conscious Connection Therapy Services, LLC and specializes in working with individuals of color, tells Fast Company that Black women are facing major challenges in today’s corporate world, and that, for many, entrepreneurship feels like a saving grace. Norris says it gives Black women, in particular, back their “agency” and “financial mobility” when the “traditional system” fails them.
Norris continues, noting that “many corporate environments are unsafe when it comes to expressing diversity” and says that entrepreneurship can be a place where “cultural identity, authenticity, wellness, and purpose-driven work are embraced.”
Black women have made major strides when it comes to owning businesses. Still, per the recent Wells Fargo report, they still face financial barriers and fewer funding opportunities. “Most women-owned businesses, especially those owned by minorities, are smaller and more likely to be sole proprietorships, which limits their capacity to absorb shocks or pivot quickly,” the report explains. “These trends underscore the need for targeted financial and technical support for women-owned businesses in vulnerable industries, particularly those led by women of color.”
Meanwhile, last year’s Wells Fargo report noted it would take about forty years for Black women business owners to be on par with their male counterparts.