The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on people across the world due to loss of employment, steady income and overall peace of mind. In the midst of the current crisis, financial well-being in the LGBTQ population has been uniquely impacted. While much of the media attention has focused on how racial minorities have been affected, there hasn’t been nearly as much attention on the experiences of black and brown people within the LGBTQ community.
According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 42% of LGBTQ people have had to adjust their household budgets compared to 30% of the general population, as LGBTQ people are more likely to work in industries that have been highly affected by COVID-19 (2020). According to a 2019 study published by the Williams Institute, the poverty rates among black lesbian and bisexual women are 31.3% and 39.7% respectively, as compared to approximately 17.1% among black gay men and 20.3% among black bisexual men (UCLA Williams Institute, 2019). In addition, black transgender people have an unemployment rate of 26%, which is four times the rate of the general population (National LGBTQ Task Force, 2020). This data suggests that black LGBTQ women are among those most vulnerable during this time and that there will most likely be a widening of the economic disparities faced by LGBTQ people as compared to the general population. This also shows the importance of examining how the intersection of race and identity within the LGBTQ community will affect the ability of black LGBTQ women to withstand and overcome the added financial stress brought on by the current pandemic.