Intersectionality and Leadership

On Monday 25 March, REC director of policy and campaigns Tom Hadley was invited by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women and Work to give evidence on the business case for diversity. Having looked at recruitment in 2018, the group will now be taking a look at intersectionality, exploring how a better understanding of the concept can support a more inclusive workplace.

Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe how different aspects of a person’s identity (eg. sex, sexuality, race etc.) contribute to their treatment in society. As stressed by Wanda Wyporska, executive director of the Equality Trust during the meeting, “We cannot ignore the different identities that women have, as it is these identities that effect their experience in the workplace”. The APPG, of which we are partners, will hold a series of meetings examining best practice and solutions for improving and supporting inclusivity, seeking to understand intersectionality through the lens of employment.

The REC has also been taking an intersectional look at the recruitment process. During International Women’s Day the REC hosted a special edition of our Inclusive Recruitment Forum, which examined how an intersectional approach to recruitment can support women from marginalised groups. Attendees heard from expert guest speakers on how it felt to navigate the recruitment process as a minority inside of a minority.

As Tom Hadley pointed out in his opening statement of the APPG meeting, there is a strong commercial case for business diversity, which recruiters can sell to their clients. In 2017 McKinsey & Company released a set of research findings which once again confirmed that diversity in the workplace leads to better financial performance.

And while the business case has been made, increasing the diversity of candidates and finding new innovative ways of sourcing talent is dependent on strong leadership. Traditional diversity models have often focused on single protected characteristics (e.g gender, sexuality, age etc.) rather than taking a holistic approach to diversity and inclusion. Strong leaders are needed to drive the diversity agenda forward so that it becomes more than a box-ticking exercise. By role-modelling inclusive behaviours and aligning and adapting internal systems, leaders can create the structural and behavioural change needed to achieve real, longstanding diversity and inclusion.

To help promote gender diversity within your organisation, the REC has published a best practice guide for both recruitment professionals and in-house HR and talent professionals. You can download a copy of Increasing opportunity, supporting growth: The role of good recruitment in gender diversity here.