Over the past few years, young women of color have been represented at a disproportionately high rate among clients coming to Community Legal Services (CLS) for help with barriers to employment caused by criminal records. This is particularly notable, as the vast majority of research, programming, and policy attention regarding criminal records and barriers to employment have focused on men. The impact of criminal records on young women seeking employment has largely been overlooked.
Many of the young female clients CLS serves are the sole providers for their families and survive on the very limited resources provided by safety-net programs. They typically are able and highly motivated to work so that they can better provide for their families. Yet in the experience of Coimmunity Legal Services, young women who often have more limited and minor criminal records than their male counterparts struggle more to find employment. Data from CLS's legal practice, as well as local and national data and research, shed some light on this troubling dynamic and what can be done to better connect these young women with employment opportunities.