Intersectionality

Mentoring needs to take account of more than just male or female. This is where intersectionality plays a crucial role. Intersectionality is a term that was coined by civil rights activity Kimberle Williams Crenshaw in 1989.

It highlights and explores that the intersection of different systems of oppression such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, gender identity, ability and age.

While these are the most obvious intersections of people’s experience it’s also important to consider other factors within the work environment. For example, where someone is based geographically, how long someone has been in the organisation and how much access someone has to senior people on a regular basis. These all impact an individual’s opportunities and add into the complexities of the way each of us experience the world.

Gender Equality & Intersectionality

There are different kinds of women with different levels of privilege and/or disadvantage. Not all women are disadvantaged in the same way.

So, for example a white, cis-gendered, middle class white woman is going to face far fewer obstacles than a black, trans-gendered, woman from a working-class background.

We all have our own unique identities and experiences and as a result the areas in which we hold privilege vary. This is a hugely complex topic – to learn more look at the resources and also the suggested resources. For now, the most important thing to do recognise that everyone is privileged to a different degree.

This may be the start of your journey with this but rather than feeling overwhelmed be prepared to approach it with an open mind, an awareness of what you don’t know and a willingness to learn. Then as you learn also be prepared to take action based on that awareness.

Things to Remember

One

That gender equality disadvantages some women far more significantly than other women. Intersectionality

Two

As a result we need to learn about and remember to be aware of our own privileges.

This is not with the aim of making us feel ashamed or guilty but simply so that we can recognise and appreciate someone else’s experience. We may well have faced barriers, but the barriers that others have encountered may be different and greater in frequency and/or intensity.

Three

That the barriers faced by others are typically invisible to us simply because we haven’t experienced them ourselves. As one feminist writer puts it:

“It’s important to understand that doors that might be routinely open to you are padlocked to someone else.”

Typically, our areas of privilege are those in which we have the least awareness. The challenge is to recognize those areas of privilege and commit to filling our gaps in knowledge.