Intersectionality
- Darlene Edgar
Agosto, V., & Roland, E. (2018). Intersectionality and educational leadership: A critical review. Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 255–285. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0091732X18762433
Introduction to Intersectionality in K-12 Educational Leadership:
Researchers use Intersectionality to analyze inequities confronted by leadership practice.
Traditions and trends in educational leadership research incorporate Intersectionality to inform transformative leadership.
Linda, individualism, and knowledge relations lead to three interrelated findings regarding the use of Intersectionality.
Evolution of Leadership Concepts:
Leadership theories historically favored organizational goals and transactional management, shifting to leader-centric views.
Leadership, predominantly led by white Protestant heterosexual men, reflected notions of masculinity, heteronormativity, and white supremacy.
In the late 80s, critical theory grounded leadership research, aiming for social transformation.
Frameworks of Transformative Leadership:
Transformative leadership is constituted by acknowledging power and privilege, deconstructing social and cultural knowledge, and balancing critique and promise.
Shields' approach emphasizes awareness, reflection, analysis, and action.
Transformation requires addressing systemic issues and demonstrating moral courage and activism.
Intersectionality as an Analytical Tool:
Intersectionality traces back to the 60s and is used to analyze overlapping structures of subordination and political consequences of oppression.
It challenges individualism by looking at relational aspects and practices.
It emphasizes experiences of social groups and challenges identitarian frameworks.
Application of Intersectionality in Educational Leadership Research:
Researchers use Intersectionality at individual and interpersonal levels to analyze power relations and self-preservation strategies.
Hybrid conceptions of leadership challenge person-centric notions and advocate for contextualized sociopolitical consciousness.
Sociopolitical consciousness considers critical race and feminist perspectives to address intersecting oppressions and collective agency.
Emergent Knowledge in Educational Leadership:
Intersectionality is considered emergent in educational leadership, with a focus on microlevel analysis and oppositional knowledge projects.
Conceptual clarity is crucial to prevent Intersectionality from becoming a floating signifier.
Transformative leadership and Intersectionality offer recommendations for engaging in social transformation and collective struggles against oppression.
Recommendations for Future Research:
Future studies should focus on conceptual acuity and intersectoral analysis to examine how educational inequities are influenced by multiple sectors and social group identities.
Showunmi, V. (2020). The importance of intersectionality in higher education and educational leadership research. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Leadership Studies, 1(1), 46–63. https://doaj.org/article/159f28f17b8e4c8987c9cb2d5b65734d
Introduction:
Emphasizes the significance of intersectionality in understanding access to leadership positions, focusing on gender, race, and class disparities.
Highlights experiences of Black minority and ethnic women leaders in both private and public sectors in England.
Grounded in feminist, intersectional, and critical autobiographical theory.
Inequality Regimes:
Goes beyond task assignment in leadership, delving into processes, practices, and actions perpetuating class, gender, and racial inequalities.
Stresses the psychological responsibility to address demographic changes globally and locally, emphasizing diversity and contextual realities.
Social Economic Experiences:
Describes differing social economic experiences for Hispanic, African-American, and Asian populations in the US.
Notes disparities in access to employment, health, housing, and education, particularly affecting African-Americans, the largest minority group in the US.
Hierarchical Segregation:
Observes hierarchical segregation across gender and ethnic lines in UK higher education careers, reflecting ethnic and gender penalties.
Recognizes organizations as microcosms of societal structures, policies, and tensions, necessitating acknowledgment of contextual ethnicity and organizational dynamics.
Leadership Theory:
Critiques traditional leadership theories for suppressing differences like gender and race, often reflecting white male experiences.
Notes the lack of research in the 80s and 90s and the current focus primarily on white women, neglecting ethnic and racial diversity.
Feminist Approach:
Advocates for a feminist approach fostering non-hierarchical, reciprocal leadership based on shared experiences and friendships.
Highlights challenges faced by Black women leaders, including struggles with stereotypes and labels like aggression and rudeness.
Intersectionality Framework:
Proposes an intersectionality framework recognizing identity as multidimensional, intersecting with various experiences and social structures.
Examines discrimination experiences among Bangladeshi and Pakistani women in the UK, emphasizing the importance of understanding intersections affecting Black women's lives.
Research Methodology:
Outlines a grounded theory approach based on autobiographical accounts, discussions with BME leaders, and literature review.
Ethical considerations include adherence to research association guidance and ensuring participant diversity and autonomy.
Findings:
Reveals diverse perceptions of leadership among BME and white leaders, with BME leaders emphasizing collaborative, culturally aware approaches.
Highlights challenges faced by BME women leaders, including stereotypes, lack of support, and cultural insensitivity in organizational settings.
Conclusion:
Calls for further research to address barriers hindering BME women leaders' progression and advocates for culturally sensitive training for managers to maximize potential leadership opportunities.
National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). (2018, June 22). Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is intersectionality? [Video]. YouTube.
Compounding disadvantage that create obstacles that aren’t always understood.
Helps to understand certain problems.
How do multiple stereotypes converge?
How to intervene and provide equal opportunities.
Identity isn’t a unit but a relationship with history, community, institutions.
Need to make sure everyone understand history so we can change outcomes.
Be responsive.
Pullen, A., Rhodes, C., McEwen, C., & Liu, H. (2021). Radical politics, intersectionality and leadership for diversity in organizations. [Leadership for diversity in organizations] Management Decision, 59(11), 2553-2566. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2587531979?accountid=142373
Introduction:
Advocates for a leadership approach informed by intersectionality and radical politics to advance diversity and equity.
Examines how black and indigenous activist groups utilized feminist alliances to address social justice issues.
Radical Leadership for Diversity:
Proposes shifting towards radical and transversal policies challenging social and political structures to enable intersectionality and combat oppression.
Emphasizes critical alliances across intellectual, social, and political positions for collective ethical responsibility and social change.
Context in Australia:
Diversity and inclusion policies aim to manage interactions among identity-based groups but are contested and complex in practice.
Notes the dominance of white males in managerial roles, with diversity initiatives often serving as a diversion from challenging institutional power structures.
Reconceptualizing Equality:
Advocates for recognizing and respecting differences while upholding the democratic value of equality.
Highlights the need to challenge traditional hierarchical power dynamics and combat discrimination and oppression.
Intersectionality in Leadership Studies:
Explores how intersectionality offers a richer understanding of diversity and empowers marginalized groups, especially women leaders of color.
Critiques the flattening of intersectionality in research, emphasizing the need for structural analysis and political critique.
Political Action and Radical Democracy:
Calls for politicizing diversity to address social injustices and dismantle dominant power structures.
Proposes a radical conception of democracy that embraces difference, resistance, and solidarity for social change.
Case Studies and Coalitions:
Examines historical and contemporary activist coalitions challenging oppression and advocating for social justice across gender, sexual, and racial lines.
Highlights lessons from diverse alliances in addressing systemic inequalities and promoting democratic organizing.
Ethical Leadership and Solidarity:
Advocates for a leadership approach grounded in ethical relations and flexible solidarity across difference.
Emphasizes the need for inclusive and politically motivated actions to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression.
Transformation and Political Possibilities:
Calls for a transformation of leadership practices informed by intersectionality, political action, and ethical politics.
Urges a move beyond representational balance towards leadership diversity practices that address embedded inequality and discrimination.
Conclusion:
Proposes a leadership paradigm driven by ethical politics, intersectionality, and solidarity to achieve equality of outcomes and advance social justice agendas.
Wilson, L. (2023). The role of intersectionality in the workplace to promote inclusion for all. Leadership Excellence, 40(4), 37–38. https://research.ebsco.com/c/4ax45t/viewer/pdf/jvvzmuolbv
ntersectionality Overview:
Intersectionality acknowledges that individuals have multiple identities and experiences that shape how they perceive the world.
Compliance and legislation often focus on singular labels such as gender or ethnicity, neglecting the complexity of human identity.
Organizations tend to prioritize certain underrepresented groups while excluding others, leading to incomplete diversity efforts.
Complexity and Acceptance in the Workplace:
Recognizes that intersectionality is messy and requires workplaces to accept all aspects of individuals' identities.
Rejects the notion of treating differences as checkboxes and emphasizes the need to ensure everyone thrives in the workplace.
Simplified Approach to Diversity and Inclusion:
Advocates for a simplified approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion that addresses the everyday needs of all individuals regardless of identity.
Argues that embracing intersectionality reduces duplicated efforts, wasted resources, and employee fatigue.
Practical Solutions and Common Goals:
Stresses the importance of practical solutions and collaborative diversity efforts with the common goal of shedding outdated policies and fostering inclusivity.
Highlights the necessity of considering the entirety of individuals' identities rather than focusing solely on single labels.
Agosto, V., & Roland, E. (2018). Intersectionality and educational leadership: A critical review. Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 255–285. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0091732X18762433
The review article by Agosto and Roland (2018) delves into the application of intersectionality in the context of K-12 educational leadership, focusing on how researchers utilize it to inform transformative leadership and address educational inequities.
Intersectionality is primarily employed for microlevel analysis of inequities encountered in leadership practice. It tends to spotlight individual experiences as leaders and their capabilities, rather than leading practices. Various traditions and trends associated with intersectionality, including critical race theory, feminist theory, critical spirituality, and multiculturalism, are utilized to expose and explain the complexities of social injustice and transform education.
The historical evolution of leadership theories, particularly in the educational context, is discussed, highlighting a shift from organizational goals and transaction management to leader-centric views emphasizing human agency. However, these theories have often been informed by notions of masculinity, heteronormativity, and white supremacy, thus perpetuating existing power structures.
Intersectionality is presented as a tool to engage analytically with interlocking educational injustices, examining structural, political, and representational aspects. It challenges individualism by focusing on relational aspects of human connections and society, emphasizing the experiences of social groups and the oppression they face.
The article explores intersectionality at both individual and interpersonal levels, examining how it influences mentoring experiences, workplace discrimination, and self-preservation strategies among educational leaders. It highlights the importance of understanding one's identity within the broader context of structural power relations.
Researchers challenge the person-centric notion of leadership by proposing a hybrid conception of leader/leadership contextualized within sociopolitical consciousness. This perspective emphasizes collective agency, activism, and resistance to systemic inequalities, particularly through the lens of critical race and feminist perspectives.
Despite the growing recognition of intersectionality in educational leadership, its usage is still emerging, and there is a need for conceptual clarity and contextualized analysis. The review suggests future research should focus on examining and documenting transformative leadership as an oppositional knowledge project, supported by intersectionality, to stimulate new ways of addressing systemic inequities in education.