Intersectionality: Part 1

Intersectionality graphic from Wikipedia.org

Does a person act a certain way because of their age, their income level, or their ethnicity?

The answer could be none of the above, or all of the above. It’s likely not any one discrete column of demographic data that predicts behavior or comprehensively explains a person’s mental model.

Yet many companies and organizations still look for “segments” as clean slices or sub-sets of humanity, or want particular demographic markers to be the most salient. But none of us live our lives within the neat boxes or columns designated by the census. Income, race, ethnicity, gender, and any number of other elements all overlap and rotate in different settings, creating a kaleidoscope of experiences and responses to daily life.

This is where intersectionality can be a very useful conceptual tool.

Coined by Kimberlé W. Crenshaw in 1989, intersectionality is about the overlap of identities, particularly as they relate to systems of oppression. Coming out of critical race theory, Crenshaw specifically talked about the intersection of race and gender, and how a single-issue analysis of either race or gender was inadequate in understanding discrimination experienced by black women. 

I first learned about intersectionality in college in the 2000s. In reading up on it now to write this post, I found out that intersectionality has become more popular recently among activists. It has even faced a concomitant backlash and earned the ire of conservatives (The quintessential backwards compliment, in my mind, but I digress).

We are living through a moment of greater inclusion and nuance in understanding marginalized groups. Either/or is out, both/and is in. 26% of LGBTQ youth identify as non-binary, which is its own type of both/and. The number of people who identify as multiracial on the census has increased by 276% in the past decade. We are already living in multiple, overlapping categories. So it’s not surprising that intersectionality has resurfaced. 

Let’s bring this plural, both/and lens into industry. Products, services, and experiences for people should attend to their intersectional lives. 

Before I conclude this Part 1, I want to address one thing pre-emptively: You may think we’re already there in terms of intersectionality and this is a strawman argument. But ask yourself if companies and organizations are actually thinking of people in this complex and deep way that actually influences overall strategy, or are just talking the talk at a surface level.

Part 2 of my post will address what intersectionality can do for companies and organizations.