Women of Color

The self-identification and importance of women of color

Recent research explores how Black women and Latinas self-identify.

A group of black women pose for a photo in Minneapolis, MN (photo by Clark Sanders via Unsplash)

President Trump terminated all federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in 2025. The cuts harm multiple minority communities, including POC, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities. One of the communities that the loss of DEI affects the most are women of color (WOC).

Who fits into the category of WOC? Society tends to view WOC as any woman that is not white and is from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Recent research, however, illustrates that some women of ethnic backgrounds may not self-identify as women of color.

A study by Yalidy Matos, Stacey Greene, and Kira Sanbonmatsu found that the majority of Latinas and Black women identify as WOC and see the classification as important to their lives. Further, American-born Latinas are more likely to identify as WOC than foreign-born Latinas.

How the researchers measured women of color as an identity

Matos and colleagues conducted an original, online survey that asked Black women and Latinas questions about their identities. The respondent population consisted of 769 Black women and 558 Latinas.

The survey asked respondents to rate their familiarity with the term WOC, if the respondent identified as a WOC, and if WOC is important as an identity. The respondents also indicated the importance of the presence of WOC political candidates.

The researchers took the participants’ ages, political views, racial experiences, native country, and ethnic backgrounds into account.

Who identifies as a “Woman of Color”?

The study found that the majority of Black women and Latinas were familiar with and identified with the term WOC. Black women tended to rate the identity of WOC as more important than Latinas rated the identity.

Foreign-born respondents were less likely to identify as WOC than Afro-Latinas and US-born Latinas. The researchers also found that experiences with racial discrimination positively influenced the respondents’ view of WOC’s importance. Age was another factor, as younger participants rated the identity higher than older participants.

Both groups were likely to see the presence of WOC candidates as somewhat important. Black women were likely to automatically support these candidates while Latinas produced mixed results.

Women of color and DEI

Matos, Greene, and Sanbonmatsu’s study found that the majority of Latinas and Black women view their WOC identity as important. Because most Black women and Latinas identify as women of color and view that identity as meaningful, the loss of DEI programs under Trump’s 2025 rollback risks weakening spaces that have affirmed and supported that identity in schools, workplaces, and public institutions.

This post is part of a 3Streams partnership with the Minority Serving Institution Research Academy (MSIRA) at UC Riverside.