The Double Tax

How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid

By: Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, Chelsea Clinton

Narrated by: Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman

*LA Times Best Science Book of 2025*
As seen on NBC NEWS, ABC NEWS, CBS MORNINGS, ESSENCE, FORBES, NPR, and more

Why is it so expensive to be a woman in America? From a rising star in economics comes the first comprehensive look at the costs women face and why the bill runs especially high for women of color—with a foreword by Chelsea Clinton.

The “pink tax” has gained widespread recognition in recent years, but what happens when you look at the costs that define a woman’s entire life, especially across racial lines?

In The Double Tax, Harvard researcher Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman summarizes the disparities that women face as they navigate life’s biggest moments. Not only do the numbers reveal that women incur higher costs than men, but also that Black and white women lead vastly different lives, marked by dramatic gaps in job opportunities, salaries, housing costs, childcare access, and generational wealth. She coins this gap as the “double tax,” the compounded cost of racism and sexism.

Through rigorous research and interviews with women across the country, Opoku-Agyeman calculates the extra money, time, and effort that women are expected and forced to pay at every stage of their life.

While the evidence may be discouraging, The Double Tax offers actionable solutions for how everyday people, local communities, and global leaders alike can help relieve women of these costs for good. Only by understanding where the gaps are and where the double tax arises can we begin to even the playing field for all.

Critic reviews

“Bold, unflinching, and revolutionary. The Double Tax isn’t just a call to action; it’s a powerful blueprint for what we do today and what comes next. A life-changing read.”
—Gabrielle Union, actress, activist, and New York Times bestselling author

“Provocative and uncompromising. The Double Tax presents a bold argument about how differences across race and gender color the human experience and why that matters for us all.”
—Mikki Kendall, activist and New York Times bestselling author of Hood Feminism

“Effortlessly accessible and wildly entertaining. The Double Tax serves as an ultra-readable wake-up call and is required reading for anyone who wants to be a better citizen.”
—Chelsea Fagan, founder of The Financial Diet

“A must read. While The Double Tax lays out the brutal costs women—especially women of color—pay just to exist, Opoku-Agyeman offers bold solutions for how we can fight for a future that leaves no one behind.”
—Alyssa Milano, activist and actress

“I did not expect to laugh so hard and ache so deeply while reading this book. The Double Tax goes beyond collecting receipts and tabulating the buried costs that women face. It is a powerful reclamation of womanhood.”
—Dr. Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League and bestselling author of Unmasking AI

“The Double Tax is the kind of book that stops you in your tracks. It confirms, provokes, and inspires. With scorching storytelling, sharp critique, and deep insight, Opoku-Agyeman voices a reality that’s both deeply personal and structurally fundamental.”
—Dr. Uché Blackstock, New York Times bestselling author of Legacy

“This groundbreaking, timely, and crucial work shines a light on how persistent gender inequality is while offering bold solutions to address these injustices. Opoku-Agyeman’s insightful and compelling analysis is essential reading.”
—Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action

“The Double Tax powerfully documents how costly womanhood is in the United States while centering evidence that explores the cross section of race, gender, and class. An eye-opener and a rousing call to action!”
—Dr. Iris Bohnet, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government at Harvard University

A Powerful Listen

This book felt like a warm, honest conversation with a friend, one where you finally exhale without even realizing that you were holding your breath. For women of color, it names the silent, everyday weight we carry. For anyone with people in their lives they want to understand better, it’s a great listen. The author’s voice adds sincerity and closeness that make the experience feel personal and inviting.

Eye opening

While so much in this book shares challenges I or my friends and family have experienced in real life. Seeing it all laid out like this was an eye opener and to quite her in the epilogue “shifted the ground beneath my feet”. She makes the economic data understandable and offers some really valuable steps forward. I hope people who have the power to make changes read this and are as moved by it as I was.