A couple years ago, I remember speaking to a good friend of mine who happened to be one of my direct reports at the time. Like many of my relationships within the workplace, I never allowed the reporting structure to obscure the human element and so for me, it was important to build genuine relationships with all my direct reports. It is with this mantra that I got to learn so much from so many people through my interactions and relationships with all the teams I led, but I digress. I had known this gentleman for so many years and in order to protect his identity, I will call him `Ali’. We had held many conversations on various topics over the course of our friendship. Ali had just had a baby boy and personally being a Dad to two young Black boys, we dived into a deep conversation about Black boys and kids in general. It was an exciting time for Ali and he could barely keep himself composed as we touched on topics on the new bundle of joy in his life. Ali was already a Dad to two beautiful daughters and so this new addition to his family was a complement as he phrased it.
One of my boys had just discovered race via an interaction at his school and we delved into the unique challenges faced by Black boys and the uphill battle ahead that Ali’s new bundle of joy was up against. After I had explained some of these unique challenges I had faced raising my two boys, Ali went further to explain that his boy was going to be facing quite the battle that would be very different from my two boys despite all of them being Black boys. In his words “..besides the fact that my boy is a Black boy, he will have to face many battles Kevin. I am not just going to be raising a Black boy, I will be raising a Somalian Boy, A Muslim boy, An African, An Immigrant and unfortunately, he will be a foreign boy if he ever returned to Somaliland.” I was so struck by this message and this was my introduction to the concept of intersecting identities.
What is intersectionality?
Intersectionality is the social analytical framework that explores the connections at intersecting identities. The Oxford dictionary defines intersectionality as “the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage”. The term was first coined back in 1989 by Prof. Kimberlé Crenshaw in her paper, Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. In her paper, Prof. Kimberlé Crenshaw introduces her analysis from a point of departure by highlighting the book title, All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave (1982) by Akasha Gloria, Patricia Bell-Scott and Barbara Smith. Prof. Kimberlé Crenshaw dissects the problematic nature of treating identities from a single-axis framework where these identities are treated as mutually exclusive categories. Unfortunately, what this does is that the experiences of the majority always obscure the realities of the minority. Prof. Kimberlé Crenshaw lays the argument by exploring the realities of the Black woman which are very different from Black Men and White Women and how the single-axis framework not only distorts but erases multidimensional experiences. Black women not only face racial discrimination, they also face gender discrimination and the gender remedies that have been structured over time have largely been informed by cisgender White Women’s experiences. Intersectionality allows us to view the unique identities among individuals in order for us to understand and remedy appropriate and effective ways that speak to those unique experiences and realities.
Identities
Identities are complex. Identities are paradoxical. There are many factors that speak to identities; life, social constructs, experiences, nature etc. In a previous article, Deconstructing your Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Journey, I take a deep dive into intercultural learning by using the Bennett Scale and explain the different phases as individuals discover different identities. Oversimplifying identities evokes many assumptions. When we view experiences from our own baseline, we alienate the realities of others. My lived realities as a Black man are clearly very different from Ali’s experiences as a Black man. Let’s explore some of these identities further.
Race
Race is a social construct that benefits others while disadvantaging others. In my environment just like many others, White people are advantaged systemically over others. It would be however naïve of me to just purely look at race without an intersectional lens. While Black people are systemically disadvantaged, there are many other compounding factors that may disadvantage a cross section of people who identify as Black. Case in point, while both Ali and I identify as Black, it can be difficult for Ali to identify what type of discrimination he may be facing at any given time. Is it the fact that he identifies as Somalian? Is it because he is Black? Is it because he is Muslim or is it all of them? Race will often times intersect with many other identities and as such, it is important to pay attention to those realities.
Gender
I need to highlight that I use gender as a social construct here. By now, most of us understand that women and girls continue to face gender discrimination in so many ways. This discrimination however impacts some communities more than others. A Black woman does not face discrimination like a White woman does. The experiences and realities are very different. As a Black Male, I’m well aware of how racial experiences are centered on cisgender Black Men like myself. While at times there can be overlaps, my experiences cannot truly speak to a Black woman’s experience or vice versa and as such, it is important to highlight the relation to the experiences as it pertains to every single identity. On the other hand, White women’s experiences cannot speak to a Black woman’s experience. Research has shown that there has been some progress in representation as it pertains to women in the boardroom, but this progress does not speak to all women’s experiences. The progress has largely spoken to White women’s experiences while obscuring others. On a previous article, Why Representation Matters, I discuss some of these disparities. According to the Ryerson University Diversity Institute report, in Toronto where 7.5% of the city’s population is Black, there was almost no Black representation in corporate boards (0.3%). The 2021 Annual Report Card on Gender Diversity and Leadership revealed that 89% of the 48 surveyed organizations had zero Black Women in the pipeline to the Leadership level and 91% had zero Indigenous Women in the pipeline. A system ignoring this intersectionality is upholding misogyny at best.
Religion
We cannot ignore the identity associated with religion. If anything, religious affiliation can and has been viewed as a social construct. Western society has historically embraced Christianity and we cannot ignore how that obscures the realities of those who do not necessarily affiliate with Christianity as a religion. There are so many examples that we could consider such as those public holidays the West celebrates; Easter, Christmas and I could go on and on. How this plays out to Non-Christians is something Christians should pay attention to. Islamophobia is not just a big misunderstanding or coincidence. Our environment through both public policy and practice has been a key driver. As someone who was born and raised Christian, I can definitely say that my environment largely obscured the realities of other religions which I am well aware of today. While this is just one example, this notion would be true for any dominant religion anywhere in the world and even more reason why we should pay attention to this intersecting identity. Not only do Ali’s daughters face racial and gender discrimination, they also have to contend with Islamophobia. Dominant religious affiliations have a profound impact on the identities of the minorities.
Ethnicity
Another important identity is ethnicity where people may share similar cultures, attributes or language. Ethnicity may be used interchangeably with nationality. Ethnicity largely shapes identities. Certain ethnic identities are not viewed favourably due to stigma and stereotypes. Simply ill-informed. Tribal factions are real causing real social-economic havoc and political turmoil in places like Africa, Asia, The Middle East etc which all by the way were stoked through colonialism. I have certainly observed people treated differently as a result of their ethnicity. As a person I consider a friend, Ali was comfortable enough to share the challenges faced as a person who identifies as Somalian. I have personally witnessed ethnic slurs leveled against a person who identified as Somalian from a person who identified as Black.
Nationality
Nationality creates norms or beliefs by advocating for certain national values where the people can exhibit certain behaviours grounded on patriotism. What we may fail to realize at times is that governments generally set public policy and in the spirit of `perceived’ nation building and bringing people together, nations will obscure, minimize or even erase the realities of the minority. There are two important elements I would want to consider here. 1. How Nationality has the ability to suppress our understanding of intersecting identities and 2. how important nationality is as an intersecting identity. The Americas and Europe are classic examples as it pertains to systemic racism where they have consistently minimized, obscured and in some cases erased the realities of the minorities. Canada has historically minimized the experiences, histories and lived realities of Black, Indigenous, East Asian, South Asian and many other marginalized communities which has resulted in poor policy and in effect poor outcomes for these communities. We all to some extent become by-products of our environment so it is in our best interest to understand how Nationality can obscure those voices that are unheard within and outside our nations while paying attention to those convenient lessons our governments choose to reveal vs conceal about our nations & how that shapes our identities. I’m reminded of how the British Media reacted to the allegation of racism within the British Monarchy. What the world seemed to understand as an institution that laid the groundwork for colonialism and institutional racism by design, was something understood very differently by the British Media. Point of reflection here remains, how does your nationality help or hurt your understanding of intersectionality in others? The other view is the stereotypes that come with certain nationalities which can advantage or disadvantage people. One could consider the current Anti Asian racist rhetoric with respect to the current pandemic, or one could also consider how a Russian national may be viewed in the west.
Migration
Diaspora identities are very complex. Across the world, people have and continue to migrate for various reasons. Social and economic factors are generally a big part of that, conflict and war, trafficking, colonialism, political activism, and I could go on and on. Besides the trauma sometimes faced from fleeing home countries, diaspora communities face difficult challenges assimilating and integrating as newcomers. As they are seeking a new start or life, they often times find themselves navigating many social injustices in their new lives. They may face discrimination due to language barriers, accents, religious affiliation, race etc. This bigotry is many at times institutionalized and as a result, these experiences largely become identity markers for diaspora communities. I intentionally use the term `Diaspora Communities’ as I refrain from using the term `Immigrant’ with the connotation that comes with it in today’s societies. I should also highlight that even after many generations have settled in their new countries, these communities are still seen as foreign by the majority groups at times. It is heart-breaking to hear that even as children are born in these new lands, they have to contend with foreign identity markers. On the other hand, institutionalized injustices and systemic barriers may not always be apparent to Diaspora Communities as sometimes they can be generally caught up with trying to assimilate and settle in a new society. In what I have perceived as exploitation, institutions have taken note of this and will sometimes exploit this by tokenizing them as a way to showcase their diversity superficially. Some jurisdictions like the U.S and many others still refer to foreign nationals as `Aliens’ even in 2021. This speaks to the influence of Nationality on shaping how we perceive identities as we discussed earlier. The reality is, birth country and ancestry are important considerations in understanding intersecting identities in people.
Living with a disability
We have significant number of people in society living with both visible and invisible disabilities. Ableism continues to be one area that many societies haven’t done enough to address. According to a UN Report, women and girls with disabilities are 2 to 4 times more likely to experience domestic violence than women without disabilities. I have even come across ignorance that will not even tolerate the thought that there is such a thing as invisible disabilities. A majority of societies are constantly navigating the world from a centric perspective instead of a relative position and walking a mile in someone else’s shoes. Keep in mind that nationalism can largely influence the perception of certain disabilities. There are many regions in the world who consider mental wellness as taboo subjects. As they say, out of sight, out of mind including the influence of a lack of representation and what that does to society in understanding the intersecting identity of a person living with a disability.
SOGIE
Human sexuality is diverse. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) are an important intersecting identity that continue to remain taboo in most societies. These rigid systems and beliefs in gender identities and roles where people are put in certain boxes do not reflect the realities of human sexuality as we understand it today. We cannot understand the realities of people if we choose not to even recognize their existence. According to a research conducted by frontiers in psychology, 44% of Lesbian women experience intimate partner violence compared to 35% of heterosexual women. One would think that’s important information in understanding intersecting identities. These notions of a single-axis framework have largely favoured cisgender identities while erasing or invalidating non-cisgender identities. I’m reminded of a Client (identifying as belonging to a minority group) who had a strong belief that sexuality was not a diversity aspect where little did they know that they in fact had many employees who indicated through our anonymous work assessment a diversity in sexuality but were uncomfortable publicly identifying as such due to their work culture.
There are many other considerations such as age, marital status, class, education etc in understanding intersecting identities and it would be impossible for me to cover all of them but given what I’ve addressed above, you can understand the scope and reality when looking at intersectionality. We can all rise above our privileges and integrate into societies where everyone’s experience is treated as human.
Author: Kevin Kamau, is the Founder and President of Kamau Consulting Group, a Management Consulting Firm focused on creating opportunities for inclusive participation through Inclusive Leadership