The Inclusion Tax: The Price of the Ticket in White Spaces

The highly publicized killing of Black people in spring 2020 sparked a national and global social movement to address racial violence. This led to heightened national discourse about the deeply entrenched nature of systemic racism in American institutions, prompting organizations to make public statements supporting racial justice. While an essential first step in addressing systemic inequities within the workplace, these statements are primarily performative and do little to combat systemic racist practices and policies within their ranks. For instance, research has shown that women of color, and particularly Black women, experience daily racial and gendered aggressions that negatively impact their career trajectories. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews of twenty Black women lawyers, this article demonstrates how systemic racism is deeply entrenched in white spaces, preventing a genuine and effective path to diversity, equity, and full inclusion. Moreover, it theorizes how emotional, cognitive, financial, and relational labors amount to an inclusion tax levied against Black women professionals in white spaces. The article concludes with practical implications and ethical considerations on how to address this dynamic across various occupations and industries.