This article was written by Kate Coombs, Head of Insights and Polly Wardrop, Senior Analyst at the FSCB and is published in recognition of National Inclusion Week 2022.
In our work on DEI this year, we have been collaborating with London Business School to examine the intersectionality of race and gender within our dataset and better understand the implications for creating more inclusive cultures in financial services.
For the uninitiated, ‘intersectionality’ can be understood as an analytical framework centred on the premise that a person’s social identities (e.g. race, gender, sexual orientation) converge to form different experiences of both advantage and disadvantage. which may vary with context.[i]
As the initial phase of this work draws to a close, one of the principle lessons learned is that understanding intersectionality is fundamental to designing DEI initiatives that work. This is because discrimination on the basis of a single characteristic such as race is not necessarily experienced in the same way across others e.g. gender. This means that a focus on a single demographic characteristic category may lead to the overlooking of important experiences which are unique to subgroups of the employee population.
Earlier in the year we held a masterclass on intersectionality and its importance in delivering effective gender equality initiatives with academic experts Dr Aneeta Rattan and Dr Raina Brands. In the article below we summarise three pieces of advice they shared on how to apply this concept to create more effective inclusion initiatives.
- Disaggregate your data
Rather than comparing employee experiences across a single characteristic (e.g. gender), incorporate intersectionality into your data analytics practices by closely examining the intersections of identities in your employee population (e.g. black British women). Doing so can illuminate points of meaningful difference in experiences of inclusion where examining single characteristics, particularly those that are numerically overrepresented, can conceal them.
While for some this may expose the methodological challenges associated with looking at small datasets, this should not be a justification for inaction. Industry data and insight is available and can be extrapolated from. From our work with London Business School for example, initial analysis of over 70,000 FSCB Survey responses reveals that numerical overrepresentation of white women masks minoritised women’s significantly more negative experiences on important outcome measures such as perceived inclusion and belonging in financial services.[ii]
Where experiences of inclusion seem relatively better and sample sizes are larger (e.g. white women), firms can focus on pinpointing what has worked and consider how these learnings can be usefully applied to other groups with intersecting identities.
- Factor ‘intersectional invisibility’ in to the design of recruitment initiatives
One issue raised by some of our member firms – ongoing challenges with recruitment and diversifying the talent pool – may be addressed through the application of intersectionality theory. In recruitment campaigns for example, some firms have noted that a focus on ethnicity within recruitment was associated with a decline in the number of female applicants, while a focus on hiring women corresponded with a decline in the number of applications from ethnic minority candidates.
Evidence for the phenomena of ‘intersectional invisibility’ may account for this. Research suggests that individuals with intersecting (multiple) marginalised identities can be rendered invisible i.e. they can be easily overlooked or disregarded, relative to others who identify within just one demographic group that is marginalised within that particular environment.
Social psychologists, Purdie-Vaughns and Eibach (2008) argue that with regard to the intersectionality of race and gender, ‘intersectional invisibility’ is driven by the tendencies for individuals to think in an ethnocentric way.[iii] Androcentrism and ethnocentrism can cause individuals to be viewed as non-prototypical members of their gender and racial identity groups, meaning their unique experiences get overlooked. As demonstrated during the masterclass, this can mean that within anglo-centric cultures, for example, priming people to think of the demographic category ‘black’ is often accompanied by the implicit representation of ‘man’. Priming to think of the demographic category ‘women’ is often accompanied by an implicit representation of ‘white’.
Employing strategies that prompt people to think specifically about individuals at the intersections of identities is one way to check these biases and act against the cognitive ‘crowding out’ effects that can arise from thinking in terms of prototypicality. Doing so at the outset of a recruitment campaign, as opposed to adding it on at the end is likely to be much more impactful. Pinterest, for example, successfully increased the diversity of candidates within its referral pools by nudging employees to refer individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. It hypothesised that while many employees had probably worked with excellent candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, they may not necessarily be the candidates that come to mind immediately when they were asked to make referrals. Assessing referral outcomes over a six-week period after applying this nudge, they observed a 24% increase in the percentage of women referred and a 55% increase in candidates from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds for engineer roles.[iv]
- Your social network is your biggest platform for influence
Informal social networks (those that form outside of designated reporting lines) have a significant impact on employee performance via access to social capital and other informational resources, such as advice and perspective.[v] The ‘birds of a feather’ effect means that we tend to form relationships with people who are similar to us and often this means similarity in relation to demographic characteristics like age, gender or ethnicity. This is an issue when you are part of a group that is numerically underrepresented.
These initial preferences are reinforced over time, which can lead to the unintentional exclusion of individuals with multiple underrepresented identities. Individuals at the periphery of an organisation’s informal social networks can be inadvertently excluded, which leads to feelings of isolation and reduced sense of belonging.[vi]
While the broader negative impacts of the birds of a feather effect may be unintentional, you can intentionally influence your own network for the better with this knowledge. Consider who your friends are at work or who you typically go to advice for and then make a conscious effort to step outside of these habitual relational patterns. Consider who may be liable to be pushed to the peripheries of your organisation’s informal social networks and take time to get to know them better. Doing so can help uncover deeper similarities around values and interests which can help to positively shake up the informal network.[vii]
With thanks to Dr Aneeta Rattan and Dr Raina Brands
[1] the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one’s own culture
[i] Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. u. Chi. Legal f., 139.
[ii] Belonging and Inclusion in Banking: How Should Organisations Evaluate Race and Gender Differences in Employee Experience? (2022). Ozgumus, E., Rattan, A., Georgeac, O., Lin, E., Coombs, K., Gardiner, M., and Zaman, Q. Manuscript in Preparation.
[iii] Purdie-Vaughns, V., & Eibach, R. P. (2008). Intersectional invisibility: The distinctive advantages and disadvantages of multiple subordinate-group identities.
[iv] Maldonado, A. (2016, March 17). Diversifying Engineering Referrals at Pinterest. Pinclusion Posts. https://medium.com/pinclusion-posts/diversifying-engineering-referrals-at-pinterest-de3978556990
[v] Sparrowe, R. T., Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., & Kraimer, M. L. (2001). Social Networks and the Performance of Individuals and Groups. The Academy of Management Journal, 44(2), 316–325. https://doi.org/10.2307/3069458
[vi] Brands, R. A., Rattan, A., & Ibarra, H. 2017. Underrepresentation, Social Networks and Sense of Belonging to Organizational Leadership Domains. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2017(1).
[vii] Brands, R., & Rattan, A. (2020, July 13). Use Your Social Network as a Tool for Social Justice. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/07/use-your-social-network-as-a-tool-for-social-justice