Harvard economist and author delivers CEW+ Mullin Welch Endowed Lecture in conversation with social activist
The compounded effects of racism and sexism lead to what economist and author Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman calls "The Double Tax," which explains how women, especially women of color, are overcharged and underpaid.
And the effects of the double tax go beyond those communities, she argues. We are all living in the same "economic neighborhood," she said. So, if your neighbor's house catches on fire, what are you going to do? If you do nothing, "you risk potentially having that fire spread to your home."
Opoku-Agyeman made the comments as she delivered the Center for the Education of Women+ Mullin Welch Endowed Lecture at a well-attended event hosted by the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
Cortney Sanders, 2026 CEW+ Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist and 2017 Ford MPP grad, opened the session by presenting her forthcoming digital toolkit, which represents the culmination of the research she did during her residency in Ann Arbor – research that started while she was a senior advisor in the U.S. Social Security Administration. The toolkit is meant to be shared to educate the public about the labor market discrimination that presents barriers to women's retirement security and longevity.
"What we learned from this project is -- that it is rare for data experts on labor market discrimination, retirement and social insurance experts, and experts focused on women's issues to be in an ecosystem consistently all at the same time. Usually, they are referencing each other yet not always working together. Our hope is that this toolkit not only starts conversations in communities but channels a movement for sustained policy and cultural action to ensure women's outcomes are equitable and desirable," Sanders explained.
Sanders's analysis of those economic barriers was an apt precursor to Opoku-Agyeman, who is a doctoral candidate at Harvard Kennedy School studying public policy and economics, in addition to her work as an author. "The Double Tax" is her second book, the first, "The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System," was published in 2022.
To illustrate her point that everyone is affected by the existence of the double tax, she referred to President Donald Trump's effort to oust Lisa Cook, the first black woman to be appointed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
"You do not want hacks in this position because this has global implications for loads of people, not just people here in the states, but beyond," she urged.
If the president successfully ousts Cook, she said, "this independent body of economists… [is] subject to political whims. So now he can just put people in that position that just serve his interests and his buddies' interests. Notice how I didn't mention you?"
"And so, how is this the Double Tax? This is the cost that an individual black woman is facing, but if this cost goes unaddressed, what did I just say: Global implications. And so that's a really good example of putting out that fire so that the rest of the neighborhood doesn't catch on fire either," said Opoku-Agyeman.
The talk was summarized in visual form by Sam Scipio, a Detroit-based designer who works with Sanders at the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at the New School in New York, as creative lead. Sanders currently serves as the Director of the National Jobs for All Network housed at the Institute.
You can watch the livestream here.
