Hello!

We’ve discussed the term intersectionality before, and as DEI advocates, I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept. Although the idea  of overlapping identities has been more commonly used in the last decade, it was actually coined in 1989 by civil rights scholar and activist, Kimberlé Crenshaw. Crenshaw originally used the term to describe the double discrimination against Black women for both being a woman and being Black. Essentially, intersectionality argues that identity factors can either exacerbate discrimination or compound privilege.

With the kick-off of Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15, now is a great time to consider how intersectionality is impacting the Hispanic community. It also gives us the opportunity to look beyond overarching ethnic categories and truly understand how multidimensional we all are. For example, the term “Hispanic” incorporates not only people from Mexico but also regions in South America as well as the Caribbean. With such a broad geographic area, those within the Hispanic community represent several different cultures and social and political ideologies. So it should come as no surprise that there are several variations by which they may prefer to be identified.

For your Hispanic coworkers and neighbors, do you know where their families came from? Do you know if they prefer to be called Latina, LatinX, or some other variation? This month, take the time to ask. Learn more about the intersecting identities of those around you and how those confluences may create inequity in your workplace and community. Only when we see and understand the obstacles that intersectionality can create are we able to set our path to interrupting the discrimination they propagate.

Stacey Gordon, MBA
Rework Work CEO