Intersectionality in the Workplace

The concept of intersectionality can help us better understand how forms of oppression and discrimination reinforce each other. Intersectionality is challenging because it forces us to think about human experiences holistically and systemically. Intersectional analyses force us to look beyond a single-variable of oppression and discrimination, and towards understanding systems of oppression in which one form thereof reinforces and intensifies the effects of other forms.

It can make us feel uncomfortable because thinking through the additive and systemic effects of discrimination is challenging, whether we want to make our organizations more just or to change public policy in ways that promote justice. Intersectional analyses matter because oppression and discrimination come in many forms as experienced by different people, and systems of oppression do not correspond simply to individual categories of difference. Intersectionality can enrich our understanding of diversity management as we seek to make our organizations more just.

An important goal of diversity and inclusion initiatives is to turn action into lasting change. Managing diversity is more than adding a few women or people from minority racial groups into your organizations. Diversity has to go deeper, and that means including intersectional analyses into the discussion of diversity management. An intersectional analysis of the ways in which we manage diversity and ensure fair treatment for employees should cause us to think about all of the ways in which we hire, promote and manage people.