AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: WHERE THEY STAND

Editor's note: Rehema's report airs on tonight's broadcast, in Part One of our series, African American Women: Where They Stand
For years, Black women have told their daughters they may have to take care of themselves without a husband so it's imperative that young women develop skills.

It is happening.

The numbers of Black women earning college degrees and taking leadership roles in the workplace are impressive.

And the huge achievement gap between African-American women and men is astounding. Black women are making gains in record numbers. It may suggest to some that Black women have gotten the empowerment message and have met all accomplishment goals. That would be only half right. According to research, there is still a lot of work to do.

Black women, like all female business owners, still lack business parity with men in some key areas.

Most of the companies owned by Black women are part-time ventures, often run from home at night and as a way to boost daytime pay as women care for children and/or aging parents. And according to the Center for Women's Business Research, as of 2006 just 5 percent of companies owned by Black women had employees, versus 10 percent for Black men. Annual revenue averaged $29,000 compared to $77,000 for Black men.

Still, Black women are moving ahead "... driving trends in the market place, and there are advertisers that are seriously starting to pay attention to her," says Angela Burt-Murray, editor-in- chief of Essence Magazine.

"I think this is the best time in our history to be a Black woman in America. By most conceivable measures we are excelling."

But she and others caution that as there is excitement about the advancements made by Black women, society should be equally concerned about how Black men are falling behind academically and economically. Plus, some caution against viewing those disappointments as affecting only African-Americans.

"I don't think that what you are seeing right now should be viewed in isolation. Researchers will tell you that the trends you see in the African-American community really are the precursor to what is going to happen in the general population," says Burt-Murray.

All the more reason to pay attention to what's happening to Black women and men and to understand that their story is not just an African-American story. Far from it.
This is an American story deserving everyone's concern.
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