THE 5-MINUTE RUNDOWN: WHAT IS INTERSECTIONALITY ANYWAY？

Reading time: 5 min

Intersectionality is a phrase you are bound to have come across if you’re interested in DEIB+  initiatives. It’s immensely important to both understand and account for... and yet it seems to cause perpetual confusion for many people in this space. It might partly be that it sounds complicated. A lot of people worry that intersectionality is some complex term that will be far too hard for them to understand.

That’s not the case! Intersectionality is actually very easy, and it’s one of the most important inclusivity concepts out there. Anybody who cares about equality should understand what intersectionality means.

Intersectionality, in the simplest terms, is the recognition that we all belong to different groups and we can therefore be oppressed in multiple ways. Often, these ways overlap and exacerbate each other. That means we need to recognize people as complete wholes, paying attention to physical ability, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, and more. We see people not just as gay, but gay, black, and neurodivergent - or not just as white, but a white woman who is over 40. We recognize the many different elements that make up a person.

Failure to do this makes it difficult or perhaps impossible for inclusivity efforts to succeed. If we only focus on a single characteristic at a time, we can’t fight discrimination or help people in meaningful ways.

But maybe that description isn’t clear yet - so let’s look back at why the term “intersectionality” was coined and what makes it so important.

Where did intersectionality come from?

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw is responsible for creating the term intersectionality. She was looking at the oppression of African-American women in 1989. Essentially, what she wanted to point out was that African-American women were facing double discrimination. They were being discriminated against as females and as African-Americans.

Crenshaw was specifically looking at the fact that women who wanted to bring a discriminatory legal claim forward had to choose whether it was about sexism or racism. Unsurprisingly, many claims would have fallen into both categories, and yet at the time, there was no way for women to express this or fight for their rights. Her term, intersectionality, was used to describe the intersection of two demographics that were frequently discriminated against.

Of course, Crenshaw was far from the first to recognize that this issue existed. Minorities have suffered discrimination on multiple fronts for centuries. Crenshaw’s term, however, provides a word that we can use to recognize this all-important element of inclusivity. Next, let’s look at why it matters.

Why do we need intersectionality?

It’s crucial to keep intersectionality at the forefront of all inclusivity and People & Culture efforts. The simple fact is that unless we take an intersectional approach, inclusivity attempts are highly likely to be unsuccessful and sometimes might even be harmful. Let’s take an example.

We have two women in the office, and one of them is experiencing major problems with the manager. The other is only experiencing minor problems. Both are frustrated, but perhaps it’s not a gender issue if one of the women isn’t finding it too challenging.

We then look closer and discover that one of the women is black and the other is white. Suddenly, we have a lot more information to work with. The manager might indeed be discriminating based on both gender and race, but to a greater degree with one woman because of the race issue. Intersectionality therefore is a key piece of understanding the problem and taking steps to solve it.

Alternatively, let’s assume we’re setting up an initiative to empower Mexican leaders. It’s absolutely vital that intersectionality is at the core of this conversation. We don’t want to just empower able-bodied Mexicans between the ages of 20-35. We want to empower disabled Mexicans, LGBTQIA+ Mexicans, religious Mexicans, older Mexicans, female Mexicans, and more. If we’re not taking steps to acknowledge, represent, and support all Mexicans, we’re failing to create equality - and we can only acknowledge, represent, and support all Indonesians when we bring intersectionality into the conversation.

Indeed, initiatives that don’t account for intersectionality may be harmful because they will only help the less disadvantaged demographics, leaving behind those who are minorities on multiple fronts. An initiative can only equalize if it targets all areas of discrimination - not just one or two obvious ones.

Intersectionality applies across the board to people in all different areas of life. A person can be a minority in a multitude of ways. They can be a minority suffering from discrimination even if they don’t look like it on the surface - such as a white male who is suffering from class-based and age-based discrimination. By making ourselves more aware of intersectionality, we can ensure we’re capable of helping everybody, not just those who most obviously need help, or those who fit the mainstream idea of “discriminated against.”

But it’s too complicated!

This is a common complaint when intersectionality comes up. The fact is, yes, intersectionality can be complicated. It involves looking at many different areas and requires us to think about people on multiple levels. It means we can’t just apply one simple category and be done with it. We have to think about:

  • Age

  • Sexual orientation

  • Gender

  • Race

  • Religion

  • Ability

  • Appearance

  • Nationality

  • Education

  • Marital status

  • Parental status

  • Class

  • Income

  • Neurodivergence

  • Ethnicity

  • Many other categories too

A lot of us would rather not put in this work; we want inclusivity efforts to be simple and straightforward. However, the reality is that if we truly want inclusivity, we cannot ignore intersectionality. It simply doesn’t work that way. Furthermore, if we really think about it, intersectionality isn’t really that complicated. It’s just about figuring out what categories a person fits into beyond the most obvious one.

Time to get hands-on!

Unlabeling plays a crucial role in advancing intersectionality efforts to build a true culture of belonging in the workplace. While labels help us recognize diverse identities and understand how different experiences intersect, such as race, gender, disability, and socioeconomic background, they should never be used in ways that limit an individual’s potential or growth. By first acknowledging these identities and then unlabeling only when those labels become barriers, we shift the focus from categorization to human connection.   This approach ensures that intersectionality is not just a framework for representation but a driving force in creating inclusive policies, equitable opportunities, and a workplace where everyone feels truly seen and empowered. To dive deeper into this concept, check out our article on unlabeling.