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Black people are significantly over
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represented in healthcare support roles,
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particularly as nursing assistants, home
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health aids, and personal care aids.
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According to the BLS, as of 2023,
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approximately 35% of nursing assistants
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are African-American, although
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African-Americans make up only about 13%
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of the US population. And this trend is
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not new. There's a long history of
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African-Americans working in caregiving
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roles during and after slavery. During
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the reconstruction and Jim Crow eras,
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African-Americans, especially women,
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were often relegated to roles as
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domestic workers, nannies, and
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caregivers. These roles became
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institutionalized pathways into the
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labor market. Even as segregation ended,
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African-Americans found better access to
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entry-level health care positions than
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to roles requiring advanced degrees,
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such as physicians or administrators.
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Due to the barriers in education and
