08-04-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

The wellness industry is not selling wellbeing to black women

For Black women, real wellness requires economic power, community care, and the conditions to thrive.

[Photo: Getty Images]

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of top leaders and experts who pay dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership, and more.

BY Latham Thomas and Leona Hariharan

I recently attended a wellness event built around the promise that feeling better was only a simple product purchase away.

There were supplements for stress, products for better sleep, routines for optimizing hormonal balance, and tools designed to help women feel calmer, healthier, and more in control. The room reflected a booming industry built on the belief that wellness is something we can purchase, optimize, and achieve through the right combination of products and habits. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness economy is projected to reach $9.8 trillion by 2029.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the women who are rarely centered in these conversations, but who may be most in need of these solutions.

Products can’t address economic conditions

Throughout the event, I listened to conversations about supplementation, sleep routines, and stress management. What I did not hear were conversations about wealth disparity, job security, caregiving responsibilities, or economic opportunity. Labor data from the Economic Policy Institute and Congressional testimony by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) confirm that approximately 600,000 Black women lost their jobs, greatly impacting the U.S.........

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