00:00:10.960
Hi everyone.
00:00:12.400
My name is Shailvi Wakhlu.
00:00:14.639
I go by she/her pronouns, and today.
00:00:17.520
We'll be diving into the intentional plan for intersectionality, ensuring that no underrepresented person in tech is ever left behind.
00:00:26.640
A few quick notes about me.
00:00:28.720
I grew up in India and wanted to work with computers from a very young age. My personal mission is to support, mentor, and be a useful resource for underrepresented groups in their STEM careers.
00:00:35.360
I work at Strava as a Senior Director of Data. Strava is the world's leading social platform for athletes, and we serve 86 million athletes across 195 countries.
00:00:40.879
If you would like to join a thoughtful company that supports the global athlete community, we are hiring. I've spent more than seven years in management roles, and I've dedicated my entire career to building products for wide audiences.
00:01:02.399
Intersectionality is a topic that I began researching a few years ago, starting with my own experiences. Over time, I collected insights that helped me make more sense of it and devise my own plan for action.
00:01:12.640
I hope all of you who chose to drop in for this talk today understand how deep your impact can be on positive outcomes for marginalized groups in tech. Some of these outcomes are internal for those working in tech, while others are external through the products we launch.
00:01:31.040
By the end of the talk, I hope you have good ideas on how you can plan to support intersectional experiences.
00:01:44.479
Today we'll first take a look at understanding intersectionality, learn about the ways in which it manifests, and see some examples of issues it can cause.
00:01:50.799
Finally, we will discuss how we can begin to address some of those issues. First up, what is intersectionality? Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in the late 80s.
00:02:05.040
She gave a very popular TED talk that was published in 2016, where she said that many of our social justice problems, like racism and sexism, are often overlapping and create multiple levels of social injustice.
00:02:22.239
These injustices cannot be solved by addressing only one of the causes. For example, the marginalization of women has been understood and documented, as has the marginalization of Black people. However, unique problems faced by Black women have not historically been understood or documented.
00:02:40.319
Understanding, acknowledging, and addressing these problems, which are greater than the sum of their parts, is what a lot of our efforts have focused on. Her talk sparked a great deal of research on the topic and led to the creation of many data points that were previously unavailable.
00:02:54.480
This helped improve our understanding of the compounding effects she discussed. For those of you who are visual learners, here's another way to think about the concept. Let's consider various shapes, each of which may represent the problems faced by a single identity.
00:03:10.720
In this example, I have three shapes representing gender, race, and age. There can be many more shapes representing many more identities. Now, let's overlap some of these shapes; the overlapping sections represent the problems faced by that intersecting identity.
00:03:27.120
For instance, the problems one faces as a woman who is older, or as a woman of color, or as an older woman of color. Again, multiple combinations exist, but I have only used the basic combinations that intersect with gender from the existing identities we were examining.
00:03:50.159
Next, let's add another layer of complexity, which represents spaces where anyone might face issues, depicted by a specific color. People face challenges in the workplace, healthcare system, or legal system.
00:04:01.760
Again, many more colors can represent more spaces. Finally, putting it all together, we have overlapping shapes where their overlap has a particular color; this represents the problems faced by an intersectional identity in a particular space.
00:04:26.959
This framework helps us think about what problems older women might face in the workplace, or what challenges women of color might encounter in healthcare, and the issues that older women of color might confront in the legal system.
00:04:47.120
Here too, there are many more combinations than I have listed. The colors for each of the overlaps can change as we explore different spaces. Today, I will focus on the base demographic of women within the various intersections.
00:05:03.760
Returning to the shape analogy, at least one of the shapes in the overlaps will be gender. I am anchoring this conversation to women, which includes trans women, not to diminish the experience of other intersectionalities, but rather to share from my own experience with a demographic that I have researched more effectively.
00:05:25.120
Overall, I hope the learnings will be applicable across other intersectionalities. For me, it helps me pursue my goal of leaving no woman behind, which is where I feel I can have the most impact.
00:05:43.360
I hope, in general, this can spark ideas about ways to be inclusive. Another way to understand intersectionality is through the story of Sojourner Truth.
00:06:02.240
She was a famed American abolitionist and women's rights activist who significantly impacted both movements during the mid-1800s. If you have heard more about Frederick Douglass, who was also an abolitionist, and Susan B. Anthony, who was a women's rights activist, that is not a coincidence.
00:06:26.080
Truth and Douglass worked together on anti-slavery efforts while Truth and Anthony collaborated on women's rights, but in both cases, her contributions were not fully elevated, nor did she receive equity in the outcomes.
00:06:42.240
She contributed to the success of both movements, yet the groups didn't optimize for her experience and bluntly declared that she was a second priority. In the abolitionist movement, she was the inferior female voice, and in the suffragette movement, she was the racial minority.
00:07:02.160
This is one of the many examples that explains why, even today, we still see poor outcomes for women of color, especially Black women in our society. We inadvertently continue to deprioritize the needs of the marginalized within the marginalized.
00:07:21.440
Both movements she participated in were fighting for justice; however, neither explicitly included fighting for justice for Black women. As she stated, 'The rich robbed the poor, and the poor robbed one another.'
00:07:37.440
This flawed mindset—that there aren't enough resources available for all marginalized identities to seek justice—unfortunately continues today. As we witnessed in the case of Sojourner Truth, even marginalized identities can marginalize other identities.
00:07:56.320
This leads us to the concept of exploring our own privilege. We often think in binary terms of whether we have privilege or not, but the reality is that some areas allow us to benefit from social dominance, while other areas expose us to marginalization.
00:08:06.880
Using whatever privilege we possess for the benefit of those without privilege is critical for moving the world toward greater equity.
00:08:24.160
This list of dimensions along which you may or may not have privilege is non-exhaustive. Take a moment to reflect on these identities. Consider the people in your life.
00:08:42.720
How many people do you interact with who belong to a different identity? Do you understand their challenges? If you don't, how can you educate yourself, and where can you acknowledge your privilege? What can you do with that privilege?
00:09:00.640
Note that some identities are inherently more visible than others. It’s easier to notice someone’s gender, race, and age than to identify their religious beliefs, education, or economic status.
00:09:23.200
Due to our biases, some identities are more prone to judgment than others. Some identities are immutable, while others can evolve over time. All of this serves as a prompt to think more critically about these matters.
00:09:39.040
I've examined my own privilege and highlighted where I benefit from that identity. While people may question my credentials or be more suspicious of me based on my non-dominant race, gender, or nationality, I am a healthy, college-educated, 30-something living in San Francisco.
00:09:57.200
This context provides me with more opportunities than many others. For instance, my location directly impacts my economic status. Being aware of my privilege has helped me put things in perspective and decide where to focus my efforts when showing up as an ally.
00:10:15.600
Let's now examine a few ways that problems caused by intersectionality manifest in the workplace. The workplace is a context where outcomes can significantly influence other aspects of life, such as economic status, healthcare, and legal rights.
00:10:38.880
I will highlight a few key intersections, not ranking them in any way or creating an exhaustive list. I will focus on topics I feel connected to or those I was able to research more thoroughly.
00:10:59.840
The pay gap is a prevalent topic when discussing equity in the workplace. As is well-known, women earn only 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. While this statistic is disheartening on its own, it becomes more troubling when broken down by race.
00:11:19.440
For women who are not white or Asian, such as myself, salary outcomes are often much worse than the commonly cited 82 cents. By obscuring the nuances in the data, many overlook the demographic that bears the largest burden.
00:11:42.880
In the workplace, gender identity also leads to substantial discrimination. If you are a trans woman or non-binary individual, the healthcare options provided by employers frequently fail to meet their needs.
00:12:04.040
For instance, many times, the healthcare options available lack adequate coverage for women and are particularly inadequate for trans women, as their necessary treatments or mental health options may not be covered.
00:12:26.640
Trans women have a 44% chance of being diagnosed with clinical depression, making access to proper healthcare critical. Moreover, other issues facing women in the workplace, such as harassment—whether sexual or verbal—are harsher for trans women and non-binary individuals, who should not have to endure a hostile work environment.
00:12:50.000
Microaggressions in the form of misgendering, belittling, and reduced access to opportunities are additional challenges for women in the workplace. For immigrant women, numerous additional issues may arise.
00:13:12.160
They face an increased risk of deportation and struggle to navigate a legal system that fails to provide them with consistent protections. Thirteen percent of women living in the U.S. are immigrants, and their participation in the labor force, wages, and job types can all be impacted by their immigration status.
00:13:34.080
Immigrant women may experience fear and isolation linked to their status, which can lead to a higher tolerance of abuse from exploitative employers.
00:13:55.120
This is particularly pronounced for undocumented immigrants, though documented immigrants frequently confront both explicit and implicit threats from employers, partners, and landlords.
00:14:13.520
Overall, immigrant women have fewer opportunities to secure meaningful work and fair treatment in a system that already fails women through its slow pace and inadequate responses to injustices.
00:14:31.040
Religion constitutes another characteristic that should not affect women's success at work; unfortunately, it still plays a role. Employers or entire industries can sometimes be very reluctant to make workplace accommodations.
00:14:49.760
This reluctance can mean that women of certain religions may find even fewer opportunities available to them. Some may need schedule flexibility, privacy, or accommodations for dress codes.
00:15:06.240
There is also the issue of belonging and the extent to which individuals feel 'othered' at work. If all social bonding events revolve around activities such as barbecues or happy hours that some individuals may not feel comfortable attending, it can increase feelings of isolation and ultimately lower job performance.
00:15:25.520
The last intersection I will discuss regarding the workplace is educational background. It's common for jobs to place excessive emphasis on traditional qualifications that are not good predictors of job performance.
00:15:46.880
Some employers may insist on advanced degrees or list a variety of skills that are not strictly required. However, men may still apply even when they do not meet all requirements, whereas women often self-select out of such applications.
00:16:01.840
This tendency is amplified for women with non-traditional educational backgrounds, who may already feel imposter syndrome in spaces that seem foreign to them. If they do apply and manage to secure a position, their standing might still be met with bias.
00:16:14.560
Individuals often assume that their boot camp training was inferior to conventional education. Such biases are harmful to women who lacked access to educational opportunities but still worked hard to develop the skills needed for their desired jobs.
00:16:39.200
For all of these examples, inequities can arise in the workplace even before someone is hired. Consider a woman applying for a job; it is well-documented that employers typically make numerous explicit and implicit assumptions regarding her abilities.
00:16:55.040
Her skills, experiences, and competencies are often colored by bias. All of this undoubtedly impacts her chances of securing the job.
00:17:12.240
Should she be a woman of color, her personal appearance may further be scrutinized, as employers make snap judgments about her perceived professionalism based on their prevailing standards.
00:17:30.240
Additionally, if she is someone with a disability, her employer's willingness to accommodate her is likely to decrease, especially if the employers feel that they are already stretching their comfort zone.
00:17:47.120
These examples illustrate the many ways different intersectionalities can manifest. Some experiences may resonate with you because you or someone you know has faced them.
00:18:04.960
Consider your role in discussions around privilege. Where do you fit in the spectrum of identities? Perhaps you are marginalized because you are affected by bias, in which case your priority is to resolve it for yourself and others.
00:18:32.000
If you find yourself as an ally, you occupy a position of privilege in a specific context and can address the issue for others. You may face fewer repercussions and may even be praised for advocating on behalf of someone else.
00:18:53.120
If you happen to be a perpetrator, directly or indirectly amplifying the problems faced by marginalized people, whether through direct harm or by failing to center others in the conversation, you need the self-awareness to recognize that you can exacerbate issues for communities even if you face marginalization on another front.
00:19:05.720
In every situation, consider your position: if you are not the victim, what role do you want to occupy today? To prioritize the needs of the marginalized, we must implement an actionable plan that is both inclusive and intentional.
00:19:30.680
We can no longer claim ignorance; we cannot ask subgroups of people to wait until we focus on the largest marginalized groups.
00:19:49.760
To further this goal, I turn to the philosophy of a person I greatly admire: Mahatma Gandhi. He was the first major proponent of non-violence on a political scale, advocating for the marginalized, promoting harmony, and pursuing truth.
00:20:08.456
In one of his final notes before his assassination, he wrote: 'Whenever you are in doubt, recall the face of the poorest person and ask yourself if the step you contemplate will be of any use to them.'
00:20:26.360
This perspective encourages us to reflect on our own actions and consider how to prioritize the needs of the most disadvantaged first.
00:20:43.120
When faced with various choices, particularly those involving privileges, we should pause and contemplate how our decisions will impact not just our own futures but the futures of those who are most vulnerable.
00:21:03.200
Those who lack a seat at the table hope that we use our seats to advocate for them.
00:21:24.080
Based on this philosophy, I propose a three-step plan to address intersectionality: awareness, acknowledgement, and action.
00:21:44.080
Awareness is the first step toward addressing any issue. If we do not see it or understand it, we cannot fix it. By default, it can be challenging to be aware of all problems, particularly those that do not directly affect us.
00:22:04.560
So, how can we proactively foster our awareness? We can build empathy by engaging with people from different identities and learning about their perspectives.
00:22:19.680
When we are surrounded by individuals from similar backgrounds, we miss the opportunity to hear varied viewpoints. Therefore, seek out relationships with those who differ from you.
00:22:32.160
If they are open, invite them to share their experiences. Attend conferences and meetups focusing on challenges faced by specific identities, and inquire about discussions involving different demographics.
00:22:51.680
Even simply reviewing the agenda of events targeting diverse identities can help cultivate your curiosity. Approach this inquiry with genuine interest, keeping it respectful and non-intrusive.
00:23:11.360
Next, we must intentionally identify and rectify flaws. Many engineers are familiar with the practice of breaking their own code.
00:23:28.640
When you are making decisions, look for loopholes, consider alternative perspectives, and assess how your choices could unravel unexpectedly.
00:23:45.440
Sometimes, potential flaws often disproportionately affect specific demographics. Thus, a challenge isn't always a bad bit of code; it might reveal that your solutions do not consider all potential use cases.
00:24:02.320
Awareness can also be developed through seeking out existing data. Numerous common issues have been documented, and often data is accessible online to support and quantify individual challenges.
00:24:17.520
Even if data for a particular identity is scarce, proactive information-seeking and exploring related topics can help pinpoint systemic failures.
00:24:30.800
Quantitative data offers an aggregate view of problems, while qualitative data assists in identifying specific, personal experiences that individuals share.
00:24:47.040
Acknowledgement is the next step in addressing intersectionality. This involves recognizing and explicitly stating the status quo; when you observe injustice, raise your voice.
00:25:07.920
As you become aware of discrimination, be proactive in highlighting those observations. Your position as an ally allows you to bring issues to light without facing the same repercussions that usually accompany such actions.
00:25:24.720
Acknowledgement also means recognizing and admitting your own gaps. We can never fully grasp every nuance of every identity, as some complexities may not have crossed our minds.
00:25:42.520
Instead of feeling ashamed of limited knowledge, practice honesty about your learning journey and display genuine curiosity.
00:26:03.840
People appreciate vulnerability and will often be more willing to help you advance your understanding.
00:26:17.920
If you worry about offending someone, convey your intent to learn more, express your lack of knowledge, and don’t hesitate to ask questions. People are seldom upset with those who exhibit genuine interest in learning and growth.
00:26:39.520
Finally, consolidate all your insights and shift into problem-solving mode. Consider what actions you can take now, as an ally, to support marginalized identities.
00:26:53.760
As you develop potential solutions, establish accountability by formulating smart goals. Prioritize measurable outcomes instead of merely nudging toward equity.
00:27:12.720
Your dedication and persistence in fostering equity are crucial to the marginalized groups you support.
00:27:31.440
It is beneficial to invite others along your journey to cultivate equity for all groups. Share your insights, solicit input from others, and collaborate on solutions.
00:27:46.160
A wealth of talent within your network can contribute to creative solutions, and it's always advisable to learn and act as a community while seeking diverse perspectives.
00:28:02.720
To summarize, if we wish to achieve equity for everyone, we cannot afford to wait.
00:28:17.440
If the communities we establish lack inclusivity, even if we ourselves are marginalized, we are ultimately no better than those who have marginalized us.
00:28:34.080
We must continue advocating for justice and fairness, urging everyone to have equal opportunities for success.
00:28:51.040
Thank you all for prioritizing planning for intersectionality and ensuring that no one is left behind.
00:29:02.720
I would love to hear your thoughts even after today; if you wish to reach out and share your observations, I would be delighted to converse.
00:29:27.720
If you're interested in references used for this research, feel free to find me on Twitter, and I will gladly share them. There's a wealth of intriguing reading material available.
00:29:44.720
With that, thank you once again for listening. I hope this talk resonated with you and provided useful takeaways.
00:29:56.600
If you have any comments, questions, or personal stories that you're willing to share, I am very eager to engage. I am also available on Twitter, and my website contains videos of all my talks.
00:30:09.440
Thank you so much, and I hope you all have a great rest of your day.
