Info Series 3: Intersectionality

This post and the rest of the series, were first published and intended for internal use at Stepstone during a spotlight on one of our company values: We Radically Include. It is republished here.

What is intersectionality?

Intersectionality is a complicated sounding word, but in simple terms, it is the acknowledgment that everyone has their own unique experiences and that we must consider everything about someone that could marginalize them.

Intersectionality can include several factors, or social categorization, that would be used to describe someone’s identity, i.e. describe who they are. For example: gender, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, disability, etc.

These factors overlap to cause the discrimination and marginalization of people.

Where does intersectionality come from?

Intersectionality was first used by Kimberlé Crenshaw, professor of law, to describe the experience of Emma DeGraffenreid. Emma wanted to make a discrimination claim against General Motors in 1976, arguing that the company would not employ her because she was a Black woman.

But the judge said that Emma would have to prove discrimination against her gender or her race. The court would only recognise her as a woman or as a Black claimant. Not as a Black woman.

Why was that so problematic?

At the time, General Motors employed white women in secretarial positions and Black men in factory work. But Black women were not employed at General Motors. As professor Crenshaw explains, the court ‘doubled down’ on their exclusion by making a case such as Emma’s ‘legally inconsequential’.

And, to make matters worse, there was no name for the problem — and when there’s no name, no frame, it’s hard to solve.

So Kimberlé used an intersection to describe the point at which inequalities overlap and are compounded, imagining a crossroads with Emma firmly in the middle.

In Emma’s case this was the intersection of her gender and her race.

What are examples of intersectionality at work and what can we do?

Where intersectionality becomes critical, is that trends about employment or workplace inclusion will overlap, like identities do, e.g.:

• The unemployment rate for disabled people is higher than that of people without a disability
• Black women earn less than white women and even less than white men
• So, what about the experience of a Black disabled women?

However, adding things up is not what it’s all about. The employee in this example will share experiences with Black women. With disabled people. With women. And the mix of those characteristics. All this context and those parts of her identity need to be considered when looking at them and their experience.

Why is intersectionality relevant to us?

Recognising intersectionality when working on DE&I strategies is key to building equity and providing an environment free of bias and discrimination.

At StepStone our purpose is to build a happy and prosperous society by innovating the world of work. To open new opportunities for everyone.

As such, it is our responsibility to ensure those opportunities are indeed open for everyone. This includes within both our own organization, as well as the customers we support.

This means writing attractive job ads, reviewing onboarding processes, providing inclusive policies and ensure everyone has access to development opportunities and career paths.

Ensuring our website is accessible for all users, proposing solutions like the Equality Boost can help our customers reach marginalised groups and open opportunities that may not have previously been available, or the Gender Bias Decoder to remove unconscious bias from adverts.

In times of increasing labor shortages, we must continue to innovate the world of work through our JobTech and utilise it to fight discrimination for the betterment of each of us as individuals and society.

Resources for further information:

Must watch: Kimberlé Crenshaw’s TEDTalk — The urgency of intersectionality

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b03zbv07 Woman’s Hour 2 April 2014 (The Crimson Field; Intersectionality; Caroline Murphy; Suffragette census boycott)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0005f0b Woman’s Hour 28 May 2014 (Kimberlé Crenshaw and Intersectionality at 30, and Bishop of London Sarah Mullally)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3csxfjk The Big Idea, Dimensions of discrimination 21 July 2018

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