The impact of gendered racism and microaggressions on the mental health of young women of color was analyzed on Tuesday as part of the Steve Fund’s virtual webinar series called “Community Conversations.”
“Healing for Young Women of Color: How to Survive and Thrive in the Face of Gendered Racism,” highlighted the intersections of race and gender through the exploration of COVID-19, stereotypes and media perceptions.
Over the past year, the pandemic has brought on a new wave of anti-Asian American hate crimes. Most recently, the mass shootings at three Atlanta-area spas resulted in the deaths of eight people, six of whom were Asian women.
Dr. Jioni Lewis, an associate professor of counseling at the University of Maryland, said Asian women are more likely to experience harassment and racial sentiment “in the aftermath of the racist rhetoric of COVID-19.”
More attention has also been brought to the existing disparities within health, education and other sectors. Nationwide, the death rate of Black Americans is 1.4 times higher compared to White Americans, according to the COVID-19 Racial Data Tracker.
Additionally, among rates of unemployment in 2020, there was a perception that women lost more jobs. However, in a further analysis, White women gained more jobs while women of color lost them, Lewis reported.
“That was not part of the narrative shared in the media at the time because we often have a difficult time looking at the intersections of race and gender and how it plays itself out,” she said. “What is missing is an intersectional analysis by race and gender to uncover the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on [BIPOC] women.”
