Black tax: Experiences of Black professional mothers during COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research study is to illuminate the lived experiences and Black tax professional Black mothers have incurred during the pandemic. Black tax, defined through the lens of Black professional mothers, proposes a new perspective the intersectionality of being Black, a woman and a survivor of the COVID-19 pandemic. Guided by the strong Black woman schema and Double ABC-X Model as theoretical frameworks, this study examined the inequities of the additional stressors and responsibilities of working from home, heightened parent engagement, financial insecurity, and mental stress. During the timeframe of August 2020 and October 2021, Black mothers self-reported stressors and described their financial, job and housing insecurities to the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey (HPS), publicly accessible data set. Data was collected biweekly for real time tracking. A series of chi-square goodness of fit tests and descriptive characteristics including frequency analysis were conducted to answer eight research questions. Three overarching key questions directed the statistical analyses 1) How do Black mothers report stressors? 2) How do Black mothers describe their financial security and insecurity? 3) How did Black mothers navigate working from home and online education? Key findings indicated significant disproportionate levels of distress Black mothers compared to non-Black mothers during the pandemic. Results exposed the financial fragility, food insufficiency, housing insecurity and health inequities of this subset group. Implications for the field expanding current focus of societal effects of the pandemic to include examining the crisis Black professional mothers are struggling to manage as a result of the pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)