The Workforce Reset: Navigating the Post-Layoff Surge in Government and Federal Contracting Jobs
A Disproportionate Impact: Why Black Women Are Carrying the Weight of This Workforce Disruption
The workforce is shifting again—and this time, the ripple effects are cutting deep. Across the Mid-Atlantic region and the country, restructuring, contract transitions, and organizational downsizing have displaced thousands of skilled professionals in both federal and private sectors. Government contractors are urgently trying to fill critical roles while workers search for stability, direction, and opportunity.
But beneath the headlines and HR announcements lies a truth that deserves visibility:
This workforce reset is hitting the Black community—especially Black women—harder than anyone else.
Over 300,000 Black women have been laid off across the country, many of whom held positions in government, tech, administrative, and customer-facing roles. This is not just a statistic. It represents homes disrupted, career trajectories stalled, and financial foundations shaken.
Black women have long been the backbone of the government workforce, public administration, customer service, healthcare support, and technical operations. These are roles that keep agencies functioning, communities served, and federal programs moving.
Yet Black women are:
- among the fastest-growing groups of degree holders,
- among the most likely to pursue government careers, and
- among the most overlooked when layoffs occur.
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The recent surge in job cuts has exposed structural realities many Black professionals already understood:
- Black women are often last hired, first laid off
- They are under-promoted yet overworked
- They frequently serve as the primary income earners in their households
- They face higher barriers to re-entry after displacement
These layoffs are not simply economic—they are emotional, psychological, and community-impacting.
Many are dealing with:
- A loss of identity tied to long-held public service roles
- Fear of financial instability for their families
- Anxiety about re-entering a job market that was never designed with them in mind
- Exhaustion from constantly needing to “prove themselves” in new spaces
- The emotional weight of navigating all of this without a safety net
This is the heart of what makes the workforce reset so urgent.
This is more than staffing.
This is more than recruiting.
This is about protecting the stability of communities who have already been carrying more than their share.
