Black women were disproportionately impacted by DOGE cuts. A year later, they're rebuilding careers for themselves and each other
By Jennifer Liu
Published on March 11, 2026.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) layoffs, which began in February 2025, disproportionately impacted Black women, who make up 12% of the federal workforce and experienced the largest federal employment losses between 2024 and 2025. The cuts led to a high 7.5% unemployment for Black women in September 2025, compared to 4.4% unemployment among all U.S. workers at that time. Victoria Chege, a former federal worker, started sharing information about the layoffs on TikTok to help navigate the exit process. The government sector announced over 308,000 job cuts in 2025, up 703% from 2024, and made up the bulk of layoff announcements for that year. Nneka Obiekwe, founder of Vandene, and creator of Black Women Rising, started a community referral network for Black Women impacted by job loss, which currently has over 400 active members across the U.C. and tri-state areas.
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