Program Overview
“Women apprentices earn $14 per hour less than men, while black apprentices earn $12 per hour less than their white counterparts.”
Cassandra Banks Foundation (CBF) supports black women throughout their journey to economic freedom through apprenticeship. Our primary service offering is direct cash transfers to black women in apprenticeship programs. We believe that they are the only ones who should be entrusted with making the financial decisions that will bring economic freedom to them and their families.
We recognize there are both individual and systemic barriers to success. For example, in a practice referred to as occupational segregation, women and people of color in apprenticeship paths tend to be crowded into industries and roles with higher risk and lower earning potential. In fact, women apprentices earn $14 per hour less than men, while black apprentices earn $12 per hour less than their white counterparts.
CBF partners with unions and other workforce organizations to identify black women apprentices who could benefit from support, while at the same time identifying strategies for how to expand apprenticeship opportunities for more black women in their area. Since every U.S. geography has its own history and culture, solutions are localized and implemented in coordination with local organizers.
Mentorship is another pivotal piece of the Foundation’s programming. We will work to connect black women in apprenticeship with individuals who look like them so they may share their experiences along every step of the journey to economic freedom through apprenticeship.
CBF takes a comprehensive view of increasing diverse representation in apprenticeship, recognizing that as individual women prosper, their families and communities thrive as well.