The Sound of Economics

Double tax – why women pay it and what to do about it


Listen Later

Fixing gender inequality could reap big gains for the entire economy

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with economist Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman and Bruegel’s Marie-Sophie Lappe to discuss gender inequality and how economics can help to fix it. The data shows that it costs more to be a woman in society, especially a Black woman, in areas ranging from health care, to pension savings and workplace routines. These extra burdens drag the whole economy down – but this also means that progress towards gender equality can pull the whole economy up.

Related research:
  • Christie, R. (2023) ‘Taking up space’, European Commission
  • Christie, R. and M. De Ridder (2022) 'Closing the gender gap for self-employed women in the European Union’, Bruegel Blog, 20 July
  • Darvas, Z. (2025) ‘How has Europe’s gender wealth gap evolved, and why?’, Bruegel Newsletter, 03 November
  • Darvas, Z. and N. Ruer (2025) 'Gender wealth inequality in the European Union: a distributional perspective', Working Paper 26/2025, Bruegel
  • Darvas, Z., Kreko, J., A. Laczkovich  and N. Ruer (2025) ‘Unequal wealth: Exploring socioeconomic disparities across the EU’, Eurofound 
  • Goldin, C. (2025) ‘Babies and the macroeconomy’, Economica, 93:1-26 
  • Lappe, M.S. and D. Pinkus (2025) ‘Europe’s savings debate should focus on the bigger picture’, First Glance, Bruegel, 11 September
  • Opoku-Agyeman, A. G. (2025) The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid, Penguin Random House
  • Ostry, J. D. (2025) ‘Gender diversity and economic growth’, Working Paper 02/2025, Bruegel

  • ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    The Sound of EconomicsBy Bruegel

    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7

    4.7

    16 ratings


    More shows like The Sound of Economics

    View all
    Economist Podcasts by The Economist

    Economist Podcasts

    4,191 Listeners

    Odd Lots by Bloomberg

    Odd Lots

    1,895 Listeners

    Trumponomics by Bloomberg

    Trumponomics

    354 Listeners

    LSE: Public lectures and events by London School of Economics and Political Science

    LSE: Public lectures and events

    275 Listeners

    Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes by ECFR

    Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

    103 Listeners

    Macro Musings with David Beckworth by Mercatus Center at George Mason University

    Macro Musings with David Beckworth

    384 Listeners

    EU Confidential by POLITICO

    EU Confidential

    106 Listeners

    The Trade Guys by CSIS  |  Center for Strategic and International Studies

    The Trade Guys

    148 Listeners

    FT News Briefing by Financial Times

    FT News Briefing

    668 Listeners

    The Intelligence from The Economist by The Economist

    The Intelligence from The Economist

    2,527 Listeners

    The Rachman Review by Financial Times

    The Rachman Review

    143 Listeners

    Ones and Tooze by Foreign  Policy

    Ones and Tooze

    346 Listeners

    The Foreign Affairs Interview by Foreign Affairs Magazine

    The Foreign Affairs Interview

    439 Listeners

    Unhedged by Financial Times & Pushkin Industries

    Unhedged

    170 Listeners

    The Economics Show by Financial Times

    The Economics Show

    138 Listeners