Dawn Butler worked in information technology and cybersecurity roles for two decades. But she was laid off from a major bank in 2024, almost exactly 10 years after her first layoff.
The timing was not ideal. Butler had just turned 50 and was already on short-term leave, emotionally drained by work.
“The hardest part of my layoff wasn't losing the income or the title,” Butler says. “It was realizing my identity had become so entangled with my job that I'd lost myself in the process.”
Born in the Bahamas and now living in Maryland, Butler says technology was never her true calling, though. “I'd been operating in survival mode since day one, moving from role to role without ever pausing to ask what I actually wanted,” she says.
Butler is taking a beat to figure out her next steps – she finds solace in meditation, journaling, and leaning on her faith. In addition to volunteer work, mentoring, and launching a podcast focused on nontraditional paths in cybersecurity, she is building a community for Black women navigating career transitions.
“I believe our collective power, not individual resilience narratives, is what will transform this pain into purpose and power,” she says.
Dawn Butler in the Azores. Courtesy Dawn Butler/Handout via REUTERS
THE WIDER TREND
Black women face a tougher job market. The unemployment rate for Black women aged 20 and older was 7.1% in February 2026, up from 5.5% in February 2025, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That compares with 4.1% for adult women overall and 7.7% for Black workers overall.
In November 2021, near the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, by contrast, Black female unemployment was about 4.7%. “For the unemployment rate for Black women to be nearly 50% higher now, after we came out of one of the worst things that slammed our country and economy, it’s disheartening,” says Michelle Holder, associate professor of economics at John Jay College in New York.
I believe our collective power, not individual resilience narratives, is what will transform this pain into purpose and power
Dawn Butler
“There is a direct line between policy approaches and preferences at the federal level and what’s happening on the ground with Black women,” Holder adds.
At the start of his second term, President Donald Trump revoked a landmark 1965 executive order mandating equal employment opportunities for all.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Self-care is essential. While it’s not directly financially related, it is crucial to pause after a layoff and avoid making any big moves. “Take a deep breath and think through your next steps,” says Adrienne Davis Hill, a financial planner at Zenith Wealth Partners in the Washington, D.C., area.
“My life is all uncertain right now,” Butler says. She is focusing on what energizes her versus what is draining, she adds.
Dawn Butler. Courtesy Crystale of Eye Imagery/Handout via REUTERS
Have an emergency fund. “If you don’t have a safety net, your options are limited,” Hill says.
To stay afloat financially, Butler tapped her emergency fund to cover rent and other living expenses, but now that money has run out.
“The crazy part is I'm so mad that the emergency fund is gone because it was really nice to have the money in the bank,” Butler says.
To supplement her income, Butler says she is working part-time at Starbucks, and she has decided not to renew the lease on her apartment. She is relying on Medicaid for health insurance.
Treat a career transition like a marathon, not a sprint. Butler is exploring as many avenues as possible, including podcasting and authoring a newsletter about Black women in tech. She attends career events and jumps on speaking opportunities. And she is an open book when it comes to discussing a layoff.
“We need to talk about what happens when experienced professionals are forced to rebuild their identities, reckon with survival patterns they didn't know they had, and create new paths together,” Butler says. “Most importantly, I learned that transformation doesn't happen on a corporate timeline.”