Leila Kuguru has big dreams of attending law school to become a federal prosecutor or public defender. On campus, Kuguru, a senior political science major at Clark Atlanta University, serves as the chair of CAU Votes, a student-led civic engagement organization. In the lead-up to the midterms, Kuguru led a campaign to help register students at her HBCU to vote and get them prepared for the upcoming election.
Kuguru cares about voting. And as she heads to the polls this year, she has one topic top of mind: affordability. As a Black woman, she’s wondering, “What happens when you do everything you’re told to do and still struggle to afford everything?” Black women in college are headed into a volatile postgrad environment.
The unemployment rate for Black women rose sharply from 5.6 percent in August to 6.8 percent in September White women’s unemployment rate held steady, hitting just below 3 percent in September. And as of June 2026, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates was 5.7 percent according to the New York Federal Reserve. The unemployment rate for the general population was 4.1 percent.
Black women’s participation in the labor force has been on a decline. According to data from the Economy Policy Institute, Black women suffered from the largest employment loss last year, the unemployment rate jumping almost an entire percentage point from 2024, in large part due to cuts to the federal workforce made by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Black women with bachelor’s degrees were among the hardest hit.
The employment rate for Black women with bachelor’s degrees fell by 3.5 percentage points over the past year — a larger decline than any other education attainment level. Even if we want to get a post-grad education, how are we going to pay for it?” Kuguru said. They said affordability, finding work and funding their post-baccalaureate education were among their top concerns.
President Donald Trump has enacted sweeping changes to higher education that could have a major impact on Black women, who rely on student loans more than any other demographic. In July, the Education Department banned federal student loans for college programs whose median salaries earn less than people with only a high school diploma. The rule also limits how much students can borrow.
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