What You Need To Know About The Double Tax Black Women And Women Of Color Face

“Womanhood is really expensive. Always ask for more,” wrote Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman on the dedication page of her new book, The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid.

Throughout her life, Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman has carried the weight of what it means, and how much it costs, to exist as a Black woman in today’s society. Shaped by these early lessons, she has dedicated her career to researching and speaking about the double tax that Black women and women of color bear under an unjust system.

Her Agenda spoke with Anna about what inspired her to write “The Double Tax,” what Black women and women of color can learn from it and how everyone can use its insights to strengthen their communities.

Her Agenda:Tell me about yourself and how you got into writing “The Double Tax.”

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman: I’m only 29, but I can trace how I got to this moment. I grew up in an affordable housing neighborhood with a sliding rent scale. I got a full scholarship to a private school, which introduced me to an economic experience I hadn’t known existed. I remember seeing classmates with nice cars and playgrounds in their backyards, while mine was just concrete and dirt, and that made me ask: Why are things so unfair?

When I traveled back to Ghana, where I was born, my family was more well-off than our relatives, and those moments reminded me how unequal the world can be and pushed me to ask: How do we make it more fair?

Growing up, it wasn’t just about talking about how bad things are. It was about problem-solving, finding solutions, and working with our communities to make things better. That’s shaped my worldview and my desire to put ideas out there.

Her Agenda:What was the moment that you knew that this book had to be written? 

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman: I had an opportunity to give a speech about a concept called Black Women Best. It says the best outcomes for Black women are a better outcome for everyone else. We’re all better off when Black women have a fighting chance and are fully acknowledged as people. I remember giving that speech, and most of the audience agreed. After I got off stage, a white man came up and said, “Good speech, but are you sure that making things better for Black women would actually improve society as a whole?”

What he was asking wasn’t an unfair question; it was about whether he had the same information to reach the conclusions I was making. That was the first spark in me. Maybe we put everything we know about this issue into a book because books are accessible.

Her Agenda:How can Black women and women of color use this book for and in their community? 

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman: I really love this question because it gets to the heart of what this book is about. Black women already know how to come together, form sisterhood, and show up for one another, but this book is meant to be a toolkit for how we can strategize: locally, nationally, and everywhere in between.

My biggest hope is that Black women read this book in community. I want women to see the data, feel validated, and also feel empowered to say, “This can’t stand.” That’s why at the end of every chapter there’s a section called “Closing the Gap,” filled with both policy solutions and individual actions people can take right away. 

Her Agenda: What do you hope policy makers from all sides take away from this book?

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman: I finished this book right before the election and realized it could be either a reaction or a prescription, depending on who reads it. Over time, I see it as both. The book reacts to the current political and economic moment, with over 300,000 Black women “exiting” the labor force, but it is also a prescription for policymakers and voters. It shows how women, especially Black women, are dehumanized, lays out the problem clearly, and offers solutions.

Her Agenda:Could you share what Black women can take from this book to support their own career growth?

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman: The first takeaway is transparency about experiences and how you’re valued. Second, recognize the restrictions Black women face in the job market. The double tax in careers isn’t siloed; we face it while climbing the corporate or professional ladder. Building a multigenerational community and support is how we combat it and create real change. Second, recognize the restrictions Black women face in the job market. At the start of the book, I dedicate it to my nieces and tell them, “Womanhood is really expensive. Always ask for more.”

Her Agenda: Is there anything else that I did not cover or that you want to talk about? 

Anna: I think the last thing I’ll say is that platforms like Her Agenda are incredibly important for breaking down barriers around what Black women think they can achieve. I’m so grateful this platform exists. I really wish I had seen it when I was younger.

This book is very much aligned with what Her Agenda represents: seeing that your experiences are what they are, but they can be better; that you can go higher and advance further. It’s liberating, freeing, and instills hope. I’m honored to be on this platform, and I hope my experience inspires someone younger to go further.