How Black Women Can Tell They’re Being Taken Advantage of by Businesses

Women have had to fight for fair and just treatment in this nation, and Black women have had to fight twice as hard as White women. That fight continues daily.

A Black woman doing business has to be educated, or the cheaters and the thieves of the business world will sniff out the naive and go to work. Knowledge is power for the modern Black woman. Empower yourself before you hand over your Black dollars.

When you empower yourself with knowledge, you empower your money, and the empowered Black dollar becomes a powerful voice for a promising Black community.

No business, whether it be an insurance company, bank, or otherwise, should be allowed to take advantage of you. Here’s how you can tell if it’s happening and what you can do about it. 

The Facts

A trend of racially segregated neighborhoods has been apparent in U.S. cities across the nation. African Americans living in neighborhoods that are predominantly Black are paying a significantly higher auto insurance rate.

The average premium quote for a Black car owner in one of these neighborhoods is $438 higher annually. This is a roughly 70 percent hike!

Black women are being penalized for living in a Black neighborhood after being taken advantage of by the banks to get the loan to buy the house in that very neighborhood.

Black homeowners as a whole deal with hiked up interest rates, but the greatest amount of this injustice is directed at Black women. Even when the income-to-debt ratio is proportionate and the credit score is good, Black women borrowers are charged between 0.29 and 0.31 percentage points higher interest than their White counterparts.

Knowing What’s Fair

Have you ever called your insurance agent and an automated recording comes on telling you that your call is being recorded “for training purposes?” It is against the law for your call to be recorded without your consent.

This recording is your insurance agent’s way of keeping things legal but with ethics thrown to the side. Banks practice the same routine. They will all stay within legal limits (most of the time), but ethics all but disappear in the business world, and you have to educate yourself to protect yourself.

Have you heard, “These numbers are only good until tomorrow” or “This deal will be off the table as of midnight tonight so we need to move quickly?” With insurance companies, you should look to more than just financial damages.

Insurance agents and bankers alike often try to pressure people. Do your homework about insurance premiums, and visit more than one agent. Have numbers ready to compare to what you are quoted.

Ask questions, like whether you’re being charged more because of where you live. Ask if you are being charged more because of race or gender.

Do the same with banks. Shop for your loan. Pay close attention to everything that is said, and take notes about all conversations for comparison and further research.

Stand Up!

You’ve recognized and realized that you are indeed a target of racial discrimination and/or sexism. What should you do? This is where note-taking and documentation come into play.

Keeping a journal of notes about all business interactions is wise across the board. It may seem excessive and tedious, but no monetary value can be placed on having documentation when it is needed.

Black women are powerful, and power is considered a threat to the powerful. Protect the power you have, and hone it. Expand your knowledge, educate yourself, and be aware at all times.

Value yourself, Black woman. And value your powerful Black dollar.