Necessary, yet mistreated: the lived experiences of black women essential workers in dual pandemics of racism and COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has showcased the United States’ reliance on essential workers, or those deemed necessary to continue critical societal functions. Black women remain overrepresented in essential positions and are on the frontlines of two pandemics: COVID-19 and racism. Using a phenomenological research design, we conducted semi-structured interviews to examine the experiences of 22 Black women essential workers navigating these dual pandemics. Salient themes of these experiences included: desire to and fear of protest; navigating extreme emotions; mixed levels of understanding from colleagues; and a rise in blatantly racist confrontations in the workplace. Further reflection is needed to understand the complex dynamics these women faced.

KEYWORDS:

• African American women
• COVID-19
• phenomenological qualitative research
• racism

Acknowledgments

The principal investigators would like to thank the research participants who gave of their time to participate in this study.

Availability of Data

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, [RG]. The data are not publicly available due to [restrictions e.g., their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants].

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the North Carolina Collaboratory, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.