“Could you translate this document for me, please?” “Are you available to translate an after-school meeting?” From the moment I stepped foot inside a school, it became customary for me to get these requests. Then, when I became an administrator, not only would I get these requests, but I would make them as well. I thought it was a part of the job. I didn’t realize I had experienced a form of identity taxation. Even worse, when I became a leader, I didn’t know I was perpetuating identity taxation with my staff.
Identity Taxation
Identity taxation can negatively impact members of minority groups at work. Due to their minority group status, they are disproportionately tasked with responsibilities. Their identity-specific knowledge, experience, and skills are necessary to complete the work. Nobody else can do the work, so it falls onto them.
But the additional work they complete isn’t acknowledged, recognized, or compensated. That’s when it’s identity taxation. You see people doing less work, getting paid the same as you. And it’s all because of your identity.
You want to hope that it’s an accidental oversight. You fear that it’s willful exploitation.
Examples of Identity Taxation
The following examples assume:
(1) Additional duties are assigned.
(2) There is no appropriate adjustment to compensation or workload.
Translation Duties
If you were born into a family that speaks a foreign language, you probably put in a lot of work to learn that language. It didn’t happen by chance. Research says it takes 400-2200 hours ($10,000 – $55,000) to learn a foreign language. This skill is a valuable one!
If you speak a foreign language, translation duties might be normal. These might include translating meetings and documents. You might even be used to being the face of the organization in that language. That’s a lot of extra work!
Go-To Person for Students of Color
When other staff members can’t handle certain students, they might go to the staff of color for help. This isn’t random. Many staff of color work hard to develop strong relationships with students of color. They see themselves in their students and want to help them succeed.
This also means they become the go-to person for staff who are struggling with students of color. Staff of color have to do more work during and after school to support these students.
The Diversity Representative
If you’re one of a few black staff, you might assume you are in charge of planning for Black History Month. It doesn’t matter that you don’t like planning events. It’s too important to ignore, so you take on the work.
You might constantly be asked to attend different events or to be featured in their ad campaigns. You want to believe that you’re more than just their “token minority” for these moments.
The Double Tax
There’s a “double tax” when nobody even acknowledges that there’s a need for the work you’re completing. It’s a double tax because you are doing extra work that people don’t even consider necessary. At least when extra responsibilities are assigned to you, it’s because somebody sees a need for them.
How Leaders Can Avoid Identity Taxation
It’s not identity taxation when you have a reasonable workload or compensation.
This makes it easy for organizational leaders to address.
1. Talk to the staff member before assigning them extra duties. Example: Not all Latinos speak Spanish. A leader can’t assume that a staff member speaks spanish because they’re Latino. They can’t assign extra duties to somebody without knowing if they can complete them.
2. They need to adjust the staff member’s workload or provide extra compensation. Example: Staff members volunteer to plan Black History Month celebrations. Even though they volunteered, offer to compensate them for their work.
3. They need to ask the staff member for input on how to complete the work. This demonstrates a value for the staff member that goes beyond task completion. Example: If you regularly ask a staff member to be the “face of diversity,” get their perspective. Talk to them about where you can make improvements.
