Moving the Goal Post of College Degrees

Trump “de-professionalizing” degrees often held by Black women “disregards decades of progress...” 

Get me a non-professional, STAT. image credit: Shutterstock

“Today, Black women work in a variety of jobs and industries at all different levels. Yet, many Black women still confront the same misperceptions about their work that have formed at the intersection of racial and gender biases for decades,” writes Joycelyn Frye of the Center for American Progress.“ As a result, Black women face unfair expectations, unique challenges and biased assumptions about where they fit in the workplace that differ from the perceptions held about women from other racial and ethnic groups, as well as men.”  

It is ... interesting that most of the degrees being reclassified as non-professional are occupations that are largely held by women. It’s ... odd that these professions have given thousands of Black women the opportunity to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. 

Unfortunately, things are about to get a lot worse for Black women holding and/or pursuing professional degrees.  

The U.S. Department of Education is reclassifying professional degrees. This reclassification will hurt students and working women. For students, degree classification will determine their financial support. According to Newsweek’s Jasmine Laws, this situation may have a devastating effect on the future labor supply.  

“This means that those doing high-costing degrees, who may no longer receive the same amount [of financial aid] as their degree may not be deemed ‘professional,’ could financially struggle to cover the costs — which could deter students from choosing to pursue those high-demand careers.” 

Nursing, physician assistants, physical therapists and audiologists are among the health care occupations deemed non-professional, according to Inside Higher Ed. Also included in the new designation are architects, accountants and social workers. 

Many professional associations, especially the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), criticized the Trump administration’s actions.  

"Excluding nursing from the definition of professional degree programs disregards decades of progress toward parity across the health professions and contradicts the Department’s own acknowledgment that professional programs are those leading to licensure and direct practice. AACN recognizes that explicitly including postbaccalaureate nursing education as professional is essential for strengthening the nation’s health care workforce, supporting the next generation of nurses, and ultimately supporting the health care of patients in communities across the country." 

Pew Research Center data indicates Black women are among the U.S.'s most educated. The widening gender gap in bachelor's degrees spans all major racial groups, with Black Americans showing the largest gap. The report says “Today, roughly 38 percent of young Black women have earned a college degree, compared to just 26 percent of Black men. Three decades ago, 16 percent of Black men and only 14 percent of Black women held a bachelor’s degree.” 

Black women earn the majority of degrees awarded to Black students: 64.1% of bachelor's, 71.5% of master's, and 65.9% of doctoral, medical, and dental degrees, according to the American Association of University Women.  

Black women have been almost  12% of the federal workforce. Since 2003, Black/African American nurses have consistently comprised the largest percentage of nurses (LPNs, RNs and NPs) from underrepresented groups. Approximately 10-13% of registered nurses in the U.S. are Black women.  

In terms of upper-level corporate American jobs, Black women are still underrepresented. Only 1.4%of the occupied C-Suite positions in corporate America, and only 1.6% of Black women hold the position of senior vice president. According to the 2025 Fortune 500 list, only two Black women were CEOs of Fortune 500 companies (Thasunda Brown Duckett of TIAA and Toni Townes-Whitley of SAIC). In 2021, Black women held just 4.3% of managerial positions in the U.S., compared to 32.6% for White women. Black women participate in the labor force more than any other group (61% in 2024) but leave corporate jobs at high rates due to systemic racism and sexism; Black female labor force participation dropped notably between February and June 2025. According to Dr. Kerry Mitchell Brown of the KMB Consultancy Agency, there is a direct correlation between Black women abandoning corporate jobs and the rise of entrepreneurship among Black women.  

“My network is buzzing with similar conversations. Black women are leaving corporate America faster than ever,” says Brown. “But here’s what’s different — we’re not leaving defeated. We’re leaving prepared.” 

Black women are the majority within the Black teaching population, with approximately 76% of Black teachers being female.   

It is ... interesting that most of the degrees being reclassified as non-professional are occupations that are largely held by women. It’s ... odd that these professions have given thousands of Black women the opportunity to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.  It is also notable that Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) made massive cuts in federal personnel that led to a rise in Black female unemployment. 

 “From February to March, when the bulk of the cuts were taking place, 266,000 Black women lost jobs, Fulton’s research found, amounting to a 2.52 percent decline in employed Black women,” writes Chabeli Carazana, Economy and Childcare Reporter for The 19th Newsroom.   

Although there are no numbers to prove it, economists say DOGE cuts disproportionately affected Black women in Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and the rest of the South, causing job losses in the public sector, reduced access to social services and worsened economic inequalities.