California’s Healthcare Shortage Has a Pipeline Problem for Women of Color
Black women and Latinas want these jobs. The system keeps making the path expensive, unclear, and hard to survive.
A new report out of California is saying out loud what women of color in health care have been living for years: the state’s workforce shortage is not only about empty positions. It is also about who gets a real shot at training, credentials, and advancement.
The report, Pathways and Priorities in California’s Healthcare Workforce: Insights from Black Women and Latinas, was released by Black Women Organized for Political Action through its Training Institute for Leadership Enrichment (BWOPA TILE) and Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), and it draws on the experiences of more than 800 young women across California.
The findings show a sharp contradiction: Black women and Latinas describe health care as meaningful, stable work, yet they also describe a system that keeps putting obstacles in the way.
A health workforce shortage, and a question of who gets access
The report opens with its central premise: “California’s healthcare workforce shortage demands urgent action, and equity must be central to the solution.” It argues that “workforce capacity is not only about filling vacancies; it is about ensuring that education, training, and advancement pathways are clear, affordable, and aligned with the realities of the communities most ready to serve.”
California Black Media situates that urgency inside a broader national crisis. The Association of American Medical Colleges projects the United States could face a shortage of more than 85,000 physicians by 2036. At the same time, advocates and researchers argue that building a stronger pipeline for women of color does double duty: it expands staffing capacity and helps address health disparities.
Women of color are still underrepresented, even in a majority-Latino state
According to the study, Latinos make up about 40% of California’s population but hold only 10% to 16% of key health care roles. Black Californians represent about 5.3% of the population but occupy 3% to 3.9% of physician positions and as little as 2% to 4% of midwifery roles.
“California’s healthcare workforce shortage is not just a staffing issue; it is an equity issue,” the report reads. “Who has access to training, paid pathways, and advancement determines who can serve our communities.”
The vocation is there. The supports are not.
The report makes a point of stating the obvious: “Interest in healthcare careers is strong among Black women and Latinas. What’s missing are the supports that turn interest into credentials, careers, and long-term leadership.”
The study was conducted by EVITARUS and included a statewide survey of Black women and Latinas ages 18 to 29, as well as online focus groups. It is described as the third installment in a multi-year initiative examining healthcare access and workforce equity.
And the women surveyed did not sound uncertain about the value of health care. Around 80% of respondents said health care jobs are highly important to their communities, and 85% described the profession as a stable career pathway.
The barriers equal the cost of living
Participants named concrete pressures that shape every decision in their lives: housing, bills, school costs, and time.
Nearly all participants (98%) cited the rising cost of living and housing affordability as major obstacles. Four in ten respondents said reductions in financial aid or job losses had negatively impacted their ability to pursue healthcare careers.
The report connects those realities to the pipeline itself, arguing that women of color run into barriers “at every stage of the education-to-career pipeline,” including “high training costs,” “seat caps in impacted programs,” “unpaid or inaccessible internships,” and “workplace conditions that make persistence and advancement difficult, especially for women balancing work and caregiving responsibilities.”
“Discouraged” before they even start
Money is one barrier. Direction is another.
According to the study, more than half of respondents said family members, teachers, or counselors discouraged them from pursuing health care careers, and fewer than half said they had received encouragement to enter the field. The report also calls out what participants described as missing from the system: mentorship, guidance, and career navigation that reflects how people actually move through education when they have responsibilities and limited margin for error.
“This research makes clear that Black women and Latinas see health care careers as meaningful pathways to serve their communities and achieve economic mobility, yet the systems designed to support them are not keeping pace,” said LaNiece Jones, State Executive Director of BWOPA TILE. Jones added: “Removing systemic economic barriers, expanding accessible training pathways, and strengthening workplace supports are essential to closing representation gaps. When we invest in their success, we strengthen families, communities, and California’s healthcare system as a whole.”
What women of color said would actually help
The report does not leave the reader with a generic call for “more investment.” It lays out practical fixes. In fact, respondents ranked expanding financial aid and loan forgiveness as the top priority, followed by increasing affordable transfer pathways into health care degree programs and improving workplace conditions. Other recommendations include expanding early STEM and health career exposure and increasing paid healthcare internships.
Inside the report, the language becomes even sharper about what counts as essential: “Paid training, flexible pathways, clear transfer routes, and culturally responsive mentorship are not extras; they are essential to building a stable healthcare workforce.”
The report’s roadmap is simple: build pathways that match real life
During a webinar held on March 11 to discuss the findings, health care professionals echoed every single finding in the report.
“This study is extremely affirming and validating,” said TaNefer L. Camara, a health care professional who participated in the discussion, according to California Black Media. “It mirrored my own experiences entering the healthcare field and navigating my post-undergraduate education while trying to map out a career.”
Myeshia Jefferson, a health equity navigator, also pointed to the gap between funding and access. “There’s funding available. The question is how we ensure it reaches the areas that resonate with communities and creates real opportunities for Black women, Latinas, and other women of color to enter the health care field,” Jefferson stated.
Josephine Appiah of BWOPA TILE summarized the report’s emphasis on lived experience and practical barriers: “The report highlights the lived experiences of Black women and Latinas across the state,” Appiah said during the webinar, according to California Black Media. “When we address the social and economic barriers they face, from scholarships to educational support, we create real opportunities for individuals to pursue the healthcare careers they intend.”