Understanding intersectionality

It surprises me that people with minoritized characteristics are still asked to speak about “their experiences” in their organisations, on conference platforms and at other events where EDI is on the agenda. I reckon there are three reasons:

1.????? People sometimes believe listening to one person’s story will give them solutions to address systemic inequity

2.????? Those who want to create change hope a person with minoritized characteristics speaking compellingly will inspire those others to take action

3.????? To offer an easy – A.K.A lazy - way to learn for those not that bothered by the lack of equity, diversity and inclusion

Setting reason 3 aside…let’s take reason 2. Ignoring ethics for a moment, there remains a series of flawed assumptions in hoping minoritized people can inspire others to take action. Here are two:

• Since the murder of George Floyd, there have been a plethora of opportunities to find out about, engage with, hear from, read about people who have faced discrimination, microaggressions and barriers in their lives. If the idea of these talks is to motivate people to action, they would have been motivated by now.
• The stories minoritized people share feel like just that: stories. Not that listeners don’t believe what they hear, but they can’t relate to it, which makes it easy to be moved by a speech in the moment and then go back to living and working as they always have.

Then we get to reason 1, that listening to one person’s experience holds the key to finding solutions to systemic, deeply ingrained barriers to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Let me let you into a secret. Take brown and black people…

We are not all the same… ?

Listening to someone’s personal experience may bring the topic of EDI to life, but to create systemic change you need data.

Which brings me to intersectionality. For those who are not sure what this is, let me explain.

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw who created the term “intersectionality” describes it as “a metaphor for understanding the ways that multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage sometimes compound themselves and create obstacles that often are not understood within conventional ways of thinking…intersectionality is a…prism for understanding certain kinds of problems.”

How intersectionality affects one person, will be different from someone else who superficially seems the same. ?And that is why listening to one person’s story is not enough.

Note: Professor Crenshaw describes the concept of intersectionality as a “metaphor”. No organisation can build systemic intersectional solutions until they understand that intersectionality is a way to help us think differently. To bring an intersectional approach to solutions it is essential to have an intersectional approach to understanding the problem. And for that you need data.

From data you can build patterns that deepen your understanding of what problems minoritized people face in your context, and from that you can create solutions that work for you. E.g. Data about the talent pool from which you are drawing to understand their systemic barriers. E.g. Data about patterns of lived experience of minoritized people in your sector and your organisation so you can build bespoke solutions.

Importantly, you really need data about “majoritised” people in your organisation/sector and the systems that advantage them. The problems minoritized people face are created by the way those in the majority think and behave, and in systems created with the majority in mind. Locating solutions in minoritised people (e.g. mentoring programmes), ignores the real problem.

Therefore, you need data on the competencies of your managers and leaders to address the intersectional barriers their minoritized employees face, data about your organisation’s culture and how that may add to or lessen barriers, data about the systems at play in your sector and organisation. These are just examples, and the specific data you need will depend on your particular circumstances.

I hope that gives you a bit of a deeper understanding of intersectionality. Wishing you a fun-filled Friday.

Can we help?

If you want help with any aspect of your EDI journey, feel free to reach out and we can set up an informal, no obligation chat. Also, we will soon be opening our waiting list for the Full Colour EDI Programme for HR Leaders: we will hold your hand as you build everything you need – skills, confidence, concrete plans and practical actions – to drive change on EDI in your organisation.

To find out more of book an informal chat, contact [email protected]

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