Women workers are suffering under the Trump economy, a National Partnership for Women & Families analysis argues. It cites September job growth of just 29,000 and a rise in Black women’s unemployment.
Dr. Katherine Gallagher Robbins, a senior fellow at the organisation, links those figures to uneven employment gains. Her commentary also criticises administration policies and calls for paid leave, fair pay and workplace protections.
Black Women Face Higher Unemployment
The overall unemployment rate remained steady, according to the Partnership’s analysis. Black women’s unemployment rose from 5.6 percent in August to 6.8 percent in September.
Gallagher Robbins attributes that increase to more Black women entering the labour market without finding work. She also reports downward revisions to job growth for July and August.
A smaller share of women are working than at the administration’s start in January 2025, the commentary says. That trend applies to both white and Black women.
The unemployment patterns differ between those groups, however. Black women’s unemployment rates are substantially higher than at the start of 2025, while white women’s unemployment has declined.
Gallagher Robbins identifies Latinas as an exception to the participation trend. The share of working Latinas has risen since January 2025, according to her account.
She cites the Economic Policy Institute’s explanation that growing sectors partly account for that increase. Leisure and hospitality, where Latinas are concentrated, is described as the lowest-paying sector.
The commentary says Latinas’ overrepresentation in low-paid jobs contributes to their especially wide wage gap. It states that the gap grew in 2025.
Why The Analysis Says Women Are Suffering Under Current Policies
Women have added fewer than 36,000 jobs a month since January 2025, Gallagher Robbins writes. Health care accounted for nearly 70 percent of women’s job growth between January 2025 and August 2026.
She argues that health care’s employment outlook faces risks from administration spending cuts. The commentary cites projections of as many as 1.65 million lost jobs by 2029, primarily from Medicaid cuts.
Those losses are projections rather than completed layoffs. Gallagher Robbins presents them as a concern for a sector responsible for much of women’s recent employment growth.
Related Her Forward coverage examines women’s experiences after layoffs. That separate survey concerns willingness to return to former employers, rather than the national employment figures.
The commentary also references the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers. It says women’s ratings of government economic policies have returned to nearly 50-year lows.
That measure concerns views of the government’s response to inflation or unemployment. Gallagher Robbins interprets the ratings as evidence of dissatisfaction with the administration’s economic approach.
Commentary Calls For Leave And Workplace Protections
Gallagher Robbins argues that women are suffering under policy choices favouring wealthy people over workers. She criticises public-sector job cuts and the dismantling of workplace protections and diversity programmes.
She also disputes the administration’s use of limited workplace-discrimination enforcement resources. These are the author’s policy criticisms, rather than conclusions established by the employment figures alone.
For workers she describes as suffering under these policies, her recommendations include fair pay and protection from discrimination and harassment. She also calls for paid leave and paid sick days to support workers with care responsibilities.
Separate coverage of workplace support for women considers menopause policies. Reporting on women-led workplace recognition follows a different employer-focused programme.
Gallagher Robbins works on the Partnership’s research concerning policies supporting women, including women with marginalised identities. Her economic-justice work includes advocacy for a national paid family and medical leave programme.
The commentary ends with a policy demand rather than a forecast of recovery. Gallagher Robbins urges lawmakers to support care responsibilities so workers need not choose between earnings and loved ones.
