How can you understand diversity and oppression with intersectionality?

As an hispanic woman that has developed her career as a leader, I’ve an intersectional identity which gives me insights into multiple layers of biases and challenges to address complex diversity issues at work.

Intersectionality refers to the layer of identities that contribute to the "wind" beneath someone's wings, usually influencing the outcomes of the individual. There are certain identities in our society that receive more "wind" due to what our society collectively determines as superior or inferior, such as weight, disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. History plays a large part in influencing societal views and can typically be traced back to legislation, court cases, or those who have been historically seen as successful. The complexity of human identity is what makes intersectionality difficult to understand because it usually refers to the collective views of a group that is then applied to an individual.

What this has taught me in my work as a women's rights advocate, is how an intersectional lens will further enhance our efforts to tackle inequalities and injustices towards women. A multifaceted approach that we might employ in this regard is understanding how gender, race and, or even disability can be affected differently by different factors inhibiting or empowering.

Intetsectionality is very important in diverse community like ours, in Sudan, where it gives light on the analysis of such complex situations specifically if we are gonna give such situational analysis for the post civil war in Sudan now a days. Woman position and role in community rehabilitation, for example , in such contexts, intersectionality appear as wider perspective and active tool towards better understanding and way forward to present practical solutions

An intersectional approach implies that everyone has an identity made up of different elements. These elements may be more or less socially normative, and more or less associated with power and privilege. This is a very useful perspective for anyone trying to reflect on and transform the role of different masculinities in our lives.

As a?social worker?an intersectional approach?supports your assessment, risk assessments, care planning, and reviewing. It also leads to effective inclusion by supporting us to understand the subjective experiences of those with marginalised and stigmatised identities

Oppression is defined in the blacks law dictionary as a 'misdemeanor' by the person in authority inflicting upon another a sort of harm. What causes such acts including sexism, transphobia, and racism can be looked at at one point from a pervade historical cognitive development that is impaired. Those deemed to be in authority or so perceiving of themselves, react in a manner as such to feed into an ego. Their natural response to long trains of social disorder passed over to them. In a society where acts such as sexism have been allowed for far too long, it is likely to assume that such acts are law. The debate on morality then becomes perpetual for those aiming to address the foundational problems.

A constant reminder of how the world operates under western logic of segregation, is "intersectionality". If social work education is still based on western values then they will still be engaged in oppressive and discriminatory practices in their work. It is important to acquire & create knowledge which engages multi-cultural perspectives. They must also partake in addressing issues of cross border social problems that is different from their own culture. Critical thinking will help reduce dehumanizing social workers. Though the process is slow but this will gradually bring in social changes by taking diversity into consideration.

Grassroots activism and advocacy for marginalized groups is germane. Individuals and organizations can work together to promote equality and social justice. Moreover, it’s important to remember that change happens slowly, and no one solution will address all the challenges posed by intersectionality. We must continue working together towards a more just society where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

Like me, one who belongs to a country like India, faces intersectionality oppressions in the name of casteism which has been the societal system for centuries. This status quo is a part of the political system of our country even today. Such domineering beliefs have governed the Indian society creating discrimination majorly in terms of gender, caste and religion. Upon reflection, I find this has become an identity of how we visualize "intersectionality". We see the people around us as they have been categorically presented to us as a normality by the society that we live in. However, to challenge the whole mindset of different forms of discrimination we need to educate ourselves of inclusivity of such complexities, rather giving into it.

I had the privilege of listening to research scientist Sarah Lyons-Padilla about her work on cultural proximity. One way intersectionality can be asserted is by breaking down individual traits; to see how each establishes proximity to their community or distance. Some of her work is focused on the Muslim experience in America. It’s easy to imagine them in a community where their religion creates distance rather than belonging. Now think of aspects like attire, language, food. This intersectional example demonstrates how easily compounded it can get, even on micro tasks like feeding yourself or putting on clothes. Looking into cultural proximity can provide a valuable framework and better understanding of belonging.