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The Lens - August 2023
City of Iowa City sent this bulletin at 08/14/2023 10:00 AM CDT
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August 2023 |
The Lens is the City’s newsletter to expand on conversations on equity, inclusion, belonging, and
access.
What is Intersectionality?
Audre Lorde said, “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not live single-
issue lives.” Lorde was a poet and theorist who contributed widely and prolifically to feminist theory,
critical race theory, and queer theory. Her 1979 essay, “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the
Master’s House,” represents an early foray into intersectional thought. Legal scholar Kimberlé
Crenshaw, however, coined the term “intersectionality” in a 1989 paper examining how different
aspects of a person’s identity overlap and “intersect.”
Crenshaw’s paper focused on several court cases showing how intertwined aspects of plaintiffs’
identities had been ignored by the courts, leading to unjust outcomes. For example, in one case,
employees with less seniority were laid off. The court ignored the fact that the company simply had not
hired Black women before 1964, so that when the layoffs occurred in the early 1970’s, all Black
women working there were necessarily newer employees and subject to the layoffs. The court ruled
against the women, holding that combining race and sex discrimination to create “new classes of
protected minorities” would result in a Pandora’s box of endless permutations. It was precisely the
intersection of their race and sex, however, which led to the women’s predicament. Scholars
recognized Crenshaw was on to something and broadened her theory to include not only Black
women’s experiences, but intersections of many kinds of identity including races, genders, sexualities,
disabilities and other identities that can be oppressed or discriminated against, such as religion.
The theory reached the popular press in 2017, when critics of the Women’s March on Washington
debated who the March was for and who it marginalized.
Crenshaw says, “There have always been people, from the very beginning of the civil rights
movement, who had denounced the creation of equality rights on the grounds that it takes something
away from them.” Contrary to critics’ objections, she notes, the goal of recognizing and studying
intersectionality is not to flip the power dynamics to create different winners and losers, but to instead
engage in “more advocacy and remedial practices” to create a more egalitarian system as a whole.
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So, what can an individual do to be an ally? Since intersectionality involves many different identities, it
is impossible to address specific ways to support each intersecting identity. And it is quite possible to
be both oppressed in one identity and oppressor in another. For example, a white, gay, Jewish man
could both operate from a position of privilege as a white man and suffer discrimination based on his
sexual orientation and religion. But here are some general principles from Womankind Worldwide:
Be aware of your privileges. Not only your skin color, but your class, education level, sexual
orientation, disability status, and other characteristics could combine to provide you privileges
others do not have.
Listen and learn. Open your ears, mind, and heart to people who are not from the same groups
as you. Take their perspectives seriously and meaningfully collaborate with them. However, do
not expect them to educate you; it’s not their job. Do your own research.
Make space. Ask yourself if you are the person best equipped to speak on an issue or lead a
project. Does another person have more experience in that area? Don’t speak for or over
people or assume your knowledge is superior.
Think about your language. So many terms we are used to hearing and using are ableist,
exclusionary and offensive.
View Kimberlé Crenshaw’s Ted+ Animation here.
The Importance of Empathy in EDI Work
Although the “E” in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion stands for equity, another “E” is necessary for
achieving both equity and inclusion: empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share another
person’s feelings or perspective. It is not, as some assume, a “fixed trait,” but “a skill that can be
strengthened through effort and is primarily built through making connections with others,” says
psychologist Jamil Zaki. While almost all Fortune 500 companies list equity as a corporate value and
offer some kind of diversity training, empathy can help to enhance employee engagement and
productivity.
A recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) study found that 97% of employees
surveyed believe empathy is essential to a healthy workplace culture. Employees scoring their
workplaces high in empathy were three times more likely to feel their careers had meaning than those
who scored their workplaces low on empathy; while those at low-empathy workplaces were more than
twice as likely to have searched for a new job within the past six months than those at high-empathy
workplaces.
What are effective strategies for building a culture of empathy? Worktango, an employee-experience
platform, offers these suggestions:
Listen actively to employees. Active listening is a skill in itself, involving focusing undivided
attention, giving clues that you are present (nodding, eye contact, questions), and reflecting (“I
think I hear you saying… Is that right?”).
Be open-minded. Create space for differing perspectives. Recognize and uproot your own
biases. Don’t make assumptions.
Respond with kindness rather than judgment. If someone makes a mistake or is not their best
self at the moment, be compassionate. Try to understand their situation or perspective.
Welcome feedback. Workplaces at which employees are afraid to speak up are not healthy or
empathetic. Make sure people know they will be heard without retribution for offering ideas or
opinions.
Recognize and reward empathetic behavior. Encourage positive feedback both vertically (from
management to team members) and laterally (among peers).
Eric Kasoyaga of the Emotional Intelligence Training Company cites “understanding that your actions
have an impact on others” as “a key aspect of empathy.” He suggests asking these questions:
Do policies benefit some employees more than others?
Who are we considering when processes are changed, or resources reallocated?
Do we consider that when we make decisions, some employees will be affected more than
others?
Kunal Gill of Aditi Consulting notes, “Building connections, creating safe spaces, and giving others a
platform to discuss their successes, failures, challenges, etc. can result in stronger, more empathetic
relationships at work (and even outside of work). As leaders it’s our responsibility to learn, grow and
develop away from bias and headfirst into equity, diversity, and inclusion.”
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Meet Commissioner Jahnavi Pallav Pandya
How long have you been on the commission? Six months.
What ways have you found to be most effective for advocating
and promoting human rights? Being a part of the community and
DOING it, not just talking about it. I strongly believe that we need to
put our feet in the water, and become a part of - or a true support
to - the community we are advocating for.
What human rights issues do you hope to work on while
serving as a commissioner? I want to advocate for the rights of
immigrants, refugees, and children in Iowa City.
What advice would you give to individuals who want to get
involved in promoting and protecting human rights? You don’t need to wait to become someone
“big” or “professional” to start this work. I believe human rights work starts at home, with family and
community. When you walk outside, or sit in the bus, and see someone being treated unjustly, you can
speak up, and that is contributing to human rights work. Quoting Gandhi, "we need to be the change
we wish to see in the world."
What is your useless talent? I’m a singer!
What is your favorite book? Self-Hypnosis by Adam Burke.
What is your favorite color? White — it stands for peace.
Where is the coolest place you have traveled? The very welcoming and loving Leech Lake
Reservation of the Ojibwe tribe in north-central Minnesota.
What is your dream project? I have many—one of my biggest dreams is to open an orphanage for
girls in India and channelize resources to support education for them.
Upcoming Programs
Defining our Future, Celebrating our Legacy
In recognition of the Iowa City Human Rights Commission's
60th Anniversary, the Office of Equity and Human Rights will host a
webinar conversation with Demetria McCain, Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary (PDAS) for Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) on Wednesday, September 13 at 1:00 p.m.
PDAS McCain will cover HUD’s efforts to eliminate housing
discrimination and promote economic opportunity, and how a
community can work to achieve diverse and inclusive
neighborhoods.
PDAS McCain joins HUD following fifteen years of service, with five as president, at the Inclusive
Communities Project (ICP), a Dallas, TX-based affordable fair housing nonprofit. Prior to becoming
president, she oversaw operations, communications and ICP’s Mobility Assistance Program, a housing
mobility program that helps housing choice voucher holders exercise their fair housing rights. She
conceived the ICP’s “Voices for Opportunity” initiative which has provided advocacy training to low-
income renters and neighborhood groups of color.
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PDAS McCain is a graduate of Howard University School of Law, New York University and Brooklyn
College and a member of the Dallas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. You can
register at this link.
Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Higher Education, the Occupation of Native Nations, and
"Land Back"
The Office will host educator Megan Red Shirt-Shaw on Thursday, Aug. 31, at Noon. Red Shirt-Shaw
will discuss how land acknowledgments have become a powerful introduction to convocations,
graduations, meetings, and conferences in higher education, but institutions must challenge
themselves to move away from encouraging acts that are just performative into commitments of
transformative change. You can register at this link.
Questions?
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