DEI Intersectionality and Identity Flashcards
6 cards from real DEI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 DEI Intersectionality and Identity flashcards as text
Who coined the term 'intersectionality' and in what context?
Answer: Kimberlé Crenshaw, in analyzing Black women's legal discrimination cases
Legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced 'intersectionality' in 1989 to describe how Black women faced discrimination that was not captured by race-only or gender-only legal frameworks.
What does intersectionality explain about identity in a DEI context?
Answer: That individuals hold multiple social identities that interact to shape unique experiences of privilege and disadvantage
Intersectionality holds that social identities such as race, gender, class, and ability overlap to create distinct and compounded experiences that cannot be understood by examining any single identity dimension alone.
Which of the following best illustrates intersectional disadvantage in the workplace?
Answer: A Black woman being passed over for promotion despite qualifications, in a pattern not seen for white women or Black men separately
When a pattern of disadvantage appears only at the intersection of race and gender—not for either group alone—it is a textbook example of intersectional discrimination.
Why is a single-axis diversity framework considered insufficient according to intersectionality theory?
Answer: It treats identity categories as mutually exclusive and misses compounded disparities
Single-axis frameworks analyze one identity dimension at a time, which erases the experiences of people whose disadvantage stems from the combination of multiple marginalized identities.
How does intersectionality apply to DEI program design?
Answer: Programs should consider how different combinations of identities create distinct barriers that require tailored solutions
Intersectional program design acknowledges that a single intervention cannot address the compound barriers faced by employees who hold multiple marginalized identities.
What is 'matrix of domination' as used in intersectionality theory?
Answer: A conceptual framework describing how systems of race, class, and gender oppression interact at structural, disciplinary, hegemonic, and interpersonal levels
Sociologist Patricia Hill Collins developed the matrix of domination to describe how interlocking systems of oppression operate simultaneously at multiple societal levels.