Women in Black & White - Results Are In!

In late 2006, two mothers -- one black and one white, the white one being me -- decided to explore the interdependency of black and white women in the United States.

The resulting Women in Black and White national report explores how life, love, work, motherhood, money, sex, religion and relationships differ for black and white American women. The survey grew out of a series of conversations between me and another writer and businesswoman, Paula Penn-Nabrit, who lives in Westerville, Ohio, with her husband and three sons.

It is important to emphasize that this survey was not random, or scientific in any traditional sense. It was not a Washington Post-Newsweek poll or endorsed by the Washington Post or Newsweek. All answers were self-reported via Internet survey, and Paula and I conducted the analysis afterwards, leaving open the possibility of unconscious bias. Many questions were intentionally provocative to spur discussion and ongoing thought by respondents.

A total of 1,010 women responded within 24 hours, including many of you. Sixty-five percent were white and 27 percent black; the remaining 8 percent were multicultural or represented other ethnicities. Respondents were more economically secure than the national average, with more than 80 percent reporting annual household incomes above $50,000. Thirty-three percent of black women and 54 percent of white women reported annual household incomes above $100,000. Nearly a quarter, more than 260 women, added personal comments, in addition to answering more than 100 questions via Internet survey, showing how strongly they felt about the subject.

"After participating in your survey I realize how fortunate I am to have friends of all different races, religions and sexual orientations. I was raised in a home where character was always more important than color. I had some relatives who told me that as I got older my white friends wouldn't be my friends. They were wrong. It's been almost 30 years and we are still very close and they were at my wedding. I think all women, regardless of race, have the same hopes and dreams. To be loved, to be surrounded by close friends and loved ones. To be safe. To be happy. To be healthy. To be respected."

More than 90 percent of black and white women who responded reported that racism remains a prevalent force in U.S. society. Nearly everyone reported being interested in hearing others' views on race.

"Thanks for creating this survey and the opportunity to respond. I hope this survey leads to more open discussions between black and white women. I have never had friendships with white women -- not as a child or as an adult. Most of my close friends are black. I believe that my lack of friendships with white women affects my perception of them."

Black respondents to our questionnaire report being far more conscious of race's impact on their and their children's, lives. Fifty-six percent report feeling marginalized due to their race versus five percent of white respondents, who feel that gender is the more defining factor. More black mothers worry (14 percent vs. 1.5 percent of white moms) about their daughters being viewed as sexually available because of their race and 28 percent worry about their sons' interactions with police (vs. 4.5 percent of white mothers).

"I'm glad to see someone conducting research on this issue. Black women and white women often live in two different worlds. Unfortunately, it seems that black women are more aware of these difference and oftentimes white women are oblivious. It is a fact that white women benefited more from the civil rights movement than any other race. But in the workplace white women in positions of authority rarely acknowledge affirmative action or equal opportunity, with the exception of mentoring other women who look like them. Further, white women are oblivious to the fact that the increasing numbers of black men marrying white women is compounding the existing problem of the lack of available black men for black women to marry. I am all for interracial relationships, but from a sociological perspective, the implications are much more severe in the black community. Overall, the white woman is not the enemy, but oftentimes she is oblivious to the struggles of her black sisters."

Although white respondents live in households with higher annual incomes, black respondents have a higher percentage of checking (95 percent) and savings (90 percent) accounts solely in their names vs. a respective 83 percent and 80 percent of white women, making black respondents more financially independent in certain regards. A higher percent of black women surveyed support their extended families (46 percent) and charities (74 percent) vs. a respective 30 percent and 65 percent of white women.

"It's strange, but your questions made me realize how little diversity I have experienced during my entire life. Yet, at the same time, I feel that I yearn for the discussions between women of different races. I want to learn more; I want to understand more. I'd love to have a more rich circle of friends. I look forward to reading the results of your study."

Among black survey-takers, working motherhood is an accepted necessity, with 90 percent of mothers working outside the home versus 78 percent of white women; stay-at-home motherhood (and its accompanying frustrations and societal angst) are more common among white women. Thirty-four percent of black women expect their children to attend graduate/professional schools compared with 22 percent of white women.

"I'd be interested to see whether, in the black community, there is a contingent similar to that in the white community of SAHMs looking down on working women or criticizing them for being employed while their children are young. In my experience, this is almost exclusively a white middle-class, upper class phenomenon."

There were many additional findings, which you can see at Women in Black and White. Clearly, more quantitative and qualitative research is needed, conducted discretely by race, to yield more robust findings than current data allows, and black women's issues need to be separated from black men's issues. Paula and I would like to hear further dialogue and advocacy by black and white women, working jointly and separately. So please share your thoughts!

I'm sure you would anyway...

By Leslie Morgan Steiner |  June 6, 2007; 7:00 AM ET  | Category:  Research
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