Five Facts About Black Women’s Experiences in Health Care

Black women account for one in seven women in the U.S. today and play an integral part of our workforce and communities. Despite making significant advances and contributions to U.S. society, Black women continue to face high levels of unfair treatment and systemic discrimination, making up disproportionate shares of people living in poverty and working in low-wage jobs. Reflecting the intersectional nature of their identity, Black women experience the combined impact of discrimination based on their gender in addition to their race. KFF’s 2023 Racism, Discrimination, and Health Survey is a major effort to document the extent and implications of racism and discrimination, particularly with respect to people’s interactions with the health care system. As reported in the overview report, a majority (54%) of Black women say they experienced at least one form of discrimination asked about in the survey in the past year, such as receiving poorer service than others at stores or restaurants. In addition to these everyday forms of discrimination, Black women also report experiencing disproportionate levels of unfair treatment in health care settings. For example, about one in five (21%) Black women say they have been treated unfairly by a health care provider or their staff...