All you need to know about Intersectionality
Many organisations have made progress in improving the diversity of their workforce in recent years. Could understanding intersectionality, its importance in the workplace and how it can be integrated, further enhance efforts to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces?
What is intersectionality?
Intersectionality is defined as a lens for viewing how different experiences of inequality occur simultaneously and may exacerbate one another. This is important for addressing diversity and inclusion in the workplace, particularly for those facing discrimination due to certain protected characteristics including;
Race
Physical ability
Class
Gender
Sexual orientation
Intersectionality is a useful way to analyse problems faced by marginalised groups, enabling us to see: ‘where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects’ (Source: Crenshaw, 2017). It enables initiatives to be put into place at work to nurture equity and inclusion for all. It is also a lens through which we can recognise and appreciate the experience of the individual, which is formed from a variety of aspects of their identity in conversation with one another.
Feminist writer, Zoe Samudzi, uses the following example:
“A black woman may experience misogyny and racism, but she will experience misogyny differently from a white woman and racism differently from a black man. The work towards women’s rights must be intersectional – any feminism that purely represents the experiences of white, middle class, able-bodied, heterosexual etc. women will fail to achieve equality for all.”
Source: Womenkind Worldwide
To ensure that a person’s complete potential for discrimination is addressed, it is important to talk about inequality as a connected issue between race, physical ability, class, gender and sexual orientation.
Why is it a focus within ED&I?
As emphasised by the World Economic Forum: ‘inclusion means everyone all the time - not some people some of the time.’
A siloed approach to ED&I only concentrates on one aspect of diversity in isolation, similar to Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and targeted recruitment activities.
People often come together owing to common group identities. Such siloed initiatives do not usually sufficiently support those who have a cross-section of identities and they overlook specific experiences of exclusion.
An intersectional approach to ED&I is:
An ‘and’ outlook that respects our multitudes
Not an ‘or’ outlook that disbands our multitudes
One that stipulates consideration of interlinking identities
Even obligatory group labels categorise and encourage discrimination. Describing people by their differences for example; the term ‘BAME’ is essentially ‘othering’ non-white employees by grouping them together in one term. Even for ED&I, we tend to reaffirm what is ‘normal’ which maintains the power status quo. An intersectional lens removes the assumptions created by group identities, recognising each person as a singular and unique individual.
Why is Intersectionality important in the workplace?
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) is now recognised as central to improving workplace culture and closing critical skills gaps in the UK economy, so it is vital that intersectionality is included in ED&I policy. Traditional inclusion policies often separate gender from race, which runs the risk of overlooking the combination of race and gender. Considering the following statistics, we see it is important that this combination is not disregarded:
Black male UK graduates are paid:
17% less than white men
7% less than white women
Black women UK graduates are paid:
11% less than black men
9% less than white women
Source: The Resolution Foundation, 2017
Race and gender therefore have important intersections in the UK workplace. Despite this, we should be conscious of particular racialised or gendered experiences being given more importance than others and adding to the marginalisation of those experiencing intersecting identities. Anti-racist initiatives, for example, are frequently shaped by the experiences of heterosexual cisgender (those whose gender identity and expression corresponds with their sex assigned at birth) men of colour. Initiatives around gender are commonly determined by the experiences of heterosexual cisgender white women. When these initiatives are separated, only part of the problem is addressed by organisations.
If intersectionality is the basis to shape ED&I agendas, a more complete outlook can be forged and more suitable initiatives can be created to address them. The same principles should also be applied to additional intersecting identities, including:
sexual orientation
physical ability
class
Based on the interaction of an individual’s identity, intersectionality can also affect someone’s barriers both to and within the workplace. Structural barriers to employment, for example, experienced by people with disabilities are compounded by the gender pay gap when focusing on women with a disability.
When intersectionality is not considered, building a rounded picture of salary disparity, professional development barriers and discrimination in the hiring process is not possible.
According to Aishia Ullah, Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador at Corecom Consulting:
“All your social identities contribute to your ‘privilege’, even if you didn’t ask for them. We should reflect on these and consider how this impacts the discriminations we do and don’t experience.
“Listening to, understanding and collaborating with diverse groups will educate us on different views and experiences. Thinking about the language that we use every day is also useful – some of it may be exclusionary and even offensive to marginalised communities. Accepting criticism and speaking up when you hear offensive language from others is important to becoming more intersectional and better at understanding our differences.”
How can intersectionality be integrated into the workplace?
To have a meaningful impact, intersectionality should be integrated into an organisation’s vision for ED&I. This includes incorporating the following:
A diverse senior leadership team: As well as providing representation for other employees, this will reaffirm your organisation’s commitment to addressing employee discrimination in a more inclusive and rounded way. Senior leadership can also play a part in making sure that intersectionality is part of organisational culture through creating policies that integrate intersectionality and engaging with employees for buy-in.
Employee education: Highlighting the importance of education and conversations relating to intersectionality will ensure an increased understanding of individual differences in your organisation’s culture. It will also provide your employees with the language to be able to address various forms of discrimination and to formulate initiatives that encourage inclusion.
Building it into organisational reporting: Reporting that includes how combinations of race, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability and class interact with an organisation’s workforce, rather than separately can inform increased effectiveness in decision making around;
Recruitment practices
Promotions
Flexible working
Pay gaps
Parental leave
Intersectionality: Learn from the Experts
‘Not just another D&I event’ is a panel discussion, hosted by Corecom Technology Academy later this month, where industry experts will address the following:
What is Intersectionality?
How Intersectionality impacts the digital skills market and general workforce
How we can use awareness of intersectionality to drive diversity and inclusion in organisations
The panellists are:
John Ebo - Head of Projects ED&I at Leeds City Council
Cleveland Henry - Group Delivery & Deployment Director at EMIS Group
Holly Straker-Humphreys - Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Improbable
Diversity and Inclusion Ambassadors – Aishia Ullah and Dominic Brown at Corecom Consulting
They will join event host James Taylor, Managing Director at Corecom Technology Academy and will come together to discuss diversity and inclusion in recruitment and the importance of intersectionality within this process.
Want to be a more inclusive employer?
As a specialist training academy, Corecom Technology Academy drives the diversity and inclusion agenda forward to create a technology sector that is truly diverse. We continually strive to deconstruct the barriers to inclusion. To learn more about how we help businesses address their skills gap and improve diversity & inclusion in the workplace, contact James Taylor:
James Taylor
07930 090 9907
Our dedicated Diversity and Inclusion Ambassadors are specialists in educating workforces on intersectionality, including the benefits of creating diverse and inclusive environments. If you want to become a more inclusive employer, get in touch with Aishia Ullah:
