The Hidden Costs of Working While Black
According to a study entitled State of Working America Wages 2019 from the Economic Policy Institute, the earnings gap between Black and white workers has significantly widened over the last 20 years, with Black women in particular bearing the brunt of income inequality and earning only 76 cents for every dollar earned by a white man with similar qualifications. This disparity, now combined with the toll of the coronavirus pandemic on Black employment, considerably impacts Black earnings over a lifetime of work and accounts for millions of dollars and countless opportunities lost for Black employees.
The wage gap, however, does not reflect less discernable factors disproportionately affecting the earnings, advancement, and overall health of Black workers, factors just as deserving of attention in efforts to diversify the American workplace and truly achieve equal pay for equal work. These dynamics include two hidden taxes consistently levied against workers of color: the Emotional Tax and the Black Tax.
As previously mentioned in this blog series, employees who lack a sense of belonging in the workplace feel undervalued and underappreciated, resulting in limited engagement as well as losses in productivity and higher turnover rates. Lacking social and emotional attachments to their jobs and fearing retribution if they express their authentic selves or speak out against workplace injustices, these employees internalize the biases and aggressions they face in the office each day; they come to expect attacks against them based on their race, ethnicity, or culture, and their work becomes less about fulfilling specific duties and more about surviving toxic professional environments. The consequences of constantly bracing themselves for discrimination—including failure to thrive in their roles, detriments to their physical and mental health, and losses in employment when they ultimately resign—constitute the Emotional Tax they pay simply for being an “other” or a minority on the job.
Compounding their Emotional Tax and further decreasing their earnings, Black workers often feel pressure to combat generational wealth disparities by providing financial support to friends and family members, even when such support means the workers themselves live paycheck to paycheck. This phenomenon, known as the Black Tax, leads to Black employees having little to no income to use for savings, life insurance, investments, or higher education, the tools their white counterparts use to build generational wealth for their children. When Black employees already paying a steep Black Tax lose employment, multiple households face obstacles such as lapses in healthcare and defaults on tuition or home loans, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty among Black families.
Workplace discrimination, then, doesn’t just decrease workers’ satisfaction and sense of inclusiveness or simply cause an imbalance in the number of Black and white business leaders. It insidiously and tangibly diminishes the earning potential and overall wellbeing of Black employees and their families, and it cannot be dismantled without allyship between white and Black colleagues willing to recognize and resist unjust penalties against workers of color. As we continue to confront challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion through this blog, the Eastledge Group invites you to join the fight and the conversation. Consider this a welcoming, open, and honest space to share your experiences, ask questions, and offer solutions.
In addition to offering steps to eliminate the Emotional and Black Taxes, our 2021 blog series will highlight personal stories from employees experiencing or working to eliminate discrimination, demonstrate allyship and antiracism in the workplace, and discuss growth and healing in the wake of COVID-19 and other divisive issues from 2020.
How have you or someone you know experienced the Emotional and Black Taxes? More importantly, if we can collectively work to eliminate these issues, what would you do first? Feel free to respond in the comments, or reach out to us for a consultation.
We look forward to working with you and hearing from you on this journey.