Talking About Intersectionality? Avoid These Common Diversity Mistakes

In my experience, Intersectionality is one of those terms that is thrown around casually by people in the field of Diversity & Inclusion but is rarely explained or discussed thoroughly.

Find out the importance of Intersectionality and what this means for individuals.

Here are some key messages from this episode:

• Where the term Intersectionality comes from and why it’s history should never be forgotten
• Why an intersectional approach may be difficult for employee resource groups
• The dangers of ignoring Intersectionality and much much more

Play the episode for more.

Here are some key takeaways from this episode:

The Historic Context of Intersectionality

“The point being made in the paper is that when African American women or any other women of colour experience either compound or overlapping forms of discrimination, the law was not there to come to their defence”

Intersectionality concerns everyone

“I think that Intersectionality addresses the complexity of being an individual by recognising that everyone has multiple forms of identity. This means that both privilege and inequality can exist for an individual in different contexts and at different times. This is useful because an intersectional approach avoids the issues of attributing social experiences to a single identity category”

Employee Resource Groups that ignore Intersectionality can be problematic

“Even though resource groups are intended to promote inclusion, they can under particular circumstances serve to erase narratives from the discourse within an organisation”

Here are some resources so you can go deeper: 

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw

Kimberlé Crenshaw TED Talk

Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics

Check out these related episodes of the show.

Why Diversity Matters: A Review of the “McKinsey Report”

Antoinette Boateng: Why Authenticity Matters for Diversity & Inclusion

Whenever you’re ready, there are a few ways I can support your Inclusion Journey: