This article follows a short statement on the marginalizing of women in the workforce. My argument is for the necessary development and improvement of Native/Indigenous women in the workforce.
A short headline in the Political Wire (August 31) caught my attention.
Black Women Hit Hardest by Trump’s Work Force Cuts
New York Times: “While tens of thousands of employees have lost their jobs in Mr. Trump’s slash-and-burn approach to shrinking the federal work force, experts say the cuts disproportionately affect Black employees — and Black women in particular. Black women make up 12 percent of the federal workforce, nearly double their share of the labor force overall.” (The Political Wire, August 31).
This made me think about how many Native/Indigenous women are in the workforce and what situations they may face.
As of March 2025, women make up 47% of the total American workforce, with 57.5% of women participating in the workforce by this reporting date. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that there is not enough information available to present an accurate number of Native/Indigenous women in the workforce. This is a disturbing realization.
Questions about the rate of pay for Native/Indigenous women were brought forth. According to the National Women’s Law Center,
“Based on today’s [2025] full-time, year-round wage gap, Indigenous women entering the workforce now stand to lose $1,202,200 over the course of a 40-year career compared to white, non-Hispanic men. Indigenous women’s career losses based on today’s wage gap would amount to more than $1 million in 29 states, including California and New Jersey, where they lose over $2 million” (National Women’s Law Center, February 21).
This is another shocking reality. How is it that the government can claim disproportions to women of color without paying attention to the devastating effects the current workforce, hiring practices, and employment have on Native/Indigenous women? These, and similar questions, are necessary to address, in particular, given the present political climate of the current administration.
Where Are The Indian (Women)?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics November 2019 report noted hiring and workforce by gender for Native/Indigenous People.
“Labor force participation rates differ sharply by gender. As was the case for the population overall, AIAN men were more likely to participate in the labor force than AIAN women — 65.6 percent versus 55.3 percent. For both men and women, participation rates for AIANs were below the national average” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2019).
As of 2020, Native/Indigenous women comprise 0.8% of the federal/civilian workforce (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, November 2023/2024).
This highlights a gap that has not been corrected since this data gathering season. The Bureau of Labor Statistics further notes the importance of the U.S. Census to improve data gathering related to Native/Indigenous People. Rural conditions, lack of historic mailing addresses, and harsh traveling conditions make the reporting difficult. Regardless, the United Nations Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) points to the necessity of fair and accurate data reporting for Native/Indigenous populations.
When Fair Is Not Fair
“Previous Federal reports [from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)] have referenced American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) workforce statistics. However, the EEOC is unaware of reports that focus specifically on AIAN women in civilian Federal service. This profile will show that AIAN employment outcomes in the Federal sector are not equal to those of other groups, including women as a whole and AIAN men” (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2020).
The basic information continues to repeat the theme with no variation; Native/Indigenous women are disenfranchised more than data can report. The earlier New York Times article points to African American women as being unfairly victimized by changes in pay, work rate, and hiring practices. These changes come as an outcome of the current administration’s operating labor procedures. Taking that recent report with the provided workforce and fair labor practice evidence related to Native/Indigenous women, it becomes desperately clear that Native/Indigenous women are more affected than the country even considers.
The EEOC gives these statistics:
- AIAN [American Indian/Alaskan Native] women accounted for 0.8% of the civilian Federal workforce in FY 2020, more than twice their participation rate in the CLF [civilian labor force].
- AIAN women resigned at a rate of 3.7%, higher than the civilian governmentwide rate of 2.3%.
- AIAN women involuntarily separated (removed from service due to workforce reduction, dismissal, and/or termination) from federal agencies at a rate of 0.8%, higher than the governmentwide rate of 0.5%.
- AIAN women are proportionately represented among managers and supervisors, but account for only 0.4% of executives — disproportionate to their presence in the civilian Federal workforce.
- Pay gaps in the Federal sector between AIAN women and other groups were significant in FY 2020. AIAN women earned a median annual salary of $56,432 — about $26,237 less than all civilian Federal employees and $22,846 less than all women. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2020).
How this information is not front and center in conversations about labor, employment, and gender equity is beyond words.
Disparate employment opportunities, resignation, or involuntary leave of employment, underrepresentation in the civilian workforce, and significant pay gaps (earning about $26,200 less than the median civilian Federal employee and $22,800 less than all women) are some of the main outcomes the EEOC points out. The closing positive tone of this 2020 report did not meet the 2021 National Women’s Law Center (February 21) or the 2023/2024 results gathered by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (November 2023/2024).
But Why, You Ask?
“The lower earnings faced by Native American and Alaskan Native women reflect centuries of discrimination and violence, including a legacy of genocide and forced displacement that shapes where Native women live today and what opportunities they have access to. These include overt discrimination, assimilated family structures and caregiving responsibilities, the likelihood of living in rural areas, and the impact of higher rates of violence” (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, November 2024).
Add to this issues of colonization and assimilation, and the constellation of issues frames the rationale for the provided information.
On January 14, 2025, former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris signed “The Biden-Harris Administration Advanced Gender Equity and Equality at Home and Abroad” (The White House, January 2025). To date, September 2025, this is the most current legislation providing attention to issues for Native/Indigenous women.
The “Advanced Gender Equity and Equality at Home and Abroad” fact sheet points to specific efforts to support American Indian/Alaskan Native women in relation to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), originally signed in 2022, and strengthened in 2025 by executive order.
There are a few locations and subsections in this fact sheet that directly address issues about Native/Indigenous women.
“Expanding Access to Justice and Strengthening Gender-Based Violence Protections for Tribal Communities” and “Addressed Gender-Based Violence in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities” (The White House, January 2025).
One area the fact sheet notes where there is no attention to Native/Indigenous women is the subpoint, “Achieved the Lowest Average Women’s Unemployment Rate of Any Administration on Record” (January 2025). This subsection notes the improvement to Black and Hispanic women, with nothing about Native/Indigenous women. Such low-hanging fruit for the past administration could have been better addressed.
The work under the previous administration is, on the surface, admirable. The results from these actions have yet to be fully comprehended. This is the disturbing point: will these actions continue long enough to ascertain credible data? Given the direction of the current administration, the answer to this rhetorical question is a sobering “no.”
Not Your Sister
Economic disenfranchisement, sexual exploitation, gender suppression, and feministically marginalized, Native/Indigenous women continue to endure the hegemonic operations of Euroamerican colonialism. Largely written out of the American cultural fabric, Native/Indigenous women have a strong voice that speaks beyond the confines of American pop culture.
When Native/Indigenous women are used as the brunt of political jokes by the current administration, the subtext loudly states how insignificant Native/Indigenous women are in the current socio-political ideology. These jesting comments, along with historic sexual stereotypes, are institutionalized.
Pop culture knows little to less than nothing about the importance of Native/Indigenous women to the cultural fabric of their tribes and People. Persistent cultural limitations, identity denial, and gender erasure make the levels that Native/Indigenous women must rise even more monumental than their male Native/Indigenous counterparts. The available statistics of Native/Indigenous women in the labor force underscore these points.
A country founded on colonialism continues to build a colonial identity. Those who are the most at risk, Native/Indigenous women, are broadly absent from the political conversations that can invert these discriminatory practices. Yet, to have this take place, the current and future administrations would need to, first, recognize the value and importance of Native/Indigenous women. Their lives matter, and more so than society wishes to acknowledge.
Keeping a blind eye to the composite of issues waged against Native/Indigenous women is an articulation of what the government is capable of doing to others. And, this is only one dramatic example. Their lives matter, and more so than society wishes to acknowledge. Society needs to make a paradigm shift to correct gender discrimination. It starts with acknowledging and supporting Native/Indigenous women. Their lives matter, more so than society wishes to acknowledge.
Alan Lechusza Aquallo
alan lechusza aquallo 
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