interseCtionALity: Bridging the inCLusion gAp
Diversity & Inclusion Committee
Chairs: Marsha Moses – Law Offices of Kubicki Draper and Abraham Shakfeh – Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig, LLP
Barriers are broken and
bridges are built when
employees are not asked
to erase a portion of their
C
reating an inclusive
work environment is
challenging. While
many law firms assert
a commitment to diversity and
inclusion (D&I), they continue
to struggle to recruit, retain and
promote diverse lawyers, more
specifically women lawyers of
color. 1 Despite their efforts, law
firms continue to be overwhelmingly
white and male.
A recent report on diversity from
the National Association for Law
Placement (NALP) and a recent
survey by Vault and the Minority
Corporate Counsel Association,
evidence women of color and
Black women specifically remain
drastically underrepresented in law
firms. 2 So, how do firms with a
sincere commitment to D&I break
barriers and bridge disparities so
their workforce mirrors the values
articulated in their D&I statements?
Enter intersectionality.
Intersectionality was first
introduced to bring attention to
dynamics within discrimination
law that courts did not (and still
do not fully) appreciate, i.e., the
intersection of race and gender
that has a uniquely disparate and
arguably erasing impact on Black
women. 3 In her groundbreaking
identity to gain equal
access to opportunities
and advancement.
paper, Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw
examined the inherent difficulties
in judicial treatment of race and
gender discrimination cases. 4
Crenshaw used DeGraffenreid v.
General Motors to demonstrate how
courts repeatedly ignore specific
challenges faced by Black women. 5
In DeGraffenreid, the plaintiffs
sued General Motors alleging
the company’s seniority system
discriminated against them as
Black women. The district court
dismissed the claims, reasoning
the lawsuit had to be examined
as a race discrimination case or
a sex discrimination case, but not
a combination of both. 6 The court
stated Black women could not be
considered a separate protected
class, or else risk opening a
“Pandora’s box” “new classes of
protected minorities.” 7 Arguing
that often race and gender
discrim ination cases involving
Black women are examined under
a “single-axis framework,”
Crenshaw opined this framework
ignores that Black women are
Black AND female and could
(and do) face discrimi nation at the
intersection of race and gender. 8
Since Crenshaw’s introduction,
others have adopted intersectionality
to examine how multifaceted
identities are impacted by
discrimination. D&I advocates
have explored intersectionality, its
impact on diversity and inclusion,
and how it can lead to career
obstacles or discrimination.
In its Intersectionality in the
Workplace report, Bentley University’s
Center for Women and Business
examines intersectionality and
provides insight on fostering
an inclusive culture through an
“intersectional approach to
leadership.” 9 This leadership
approach requires organizational
leaders to acknowledge systemic
discrimination and recognize that
“talent at the intersections is
sometimes invisible. . . not due
to racism or sexism, but often
resulting from unconscious bias
and privileged positions.” 10 Said
differently, it is easier for leaders
to promote some one who reminds
them of them, thereby creating
barriers to opportunity for certain
groups. 11 The report suggests that
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