Intersectionality in academia and research

I’ve just published my new resource, Intersectionality, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access. There are five individual chapters which are intentended to work together. The information is a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, introduction into the barriers and solutions to discrimination in academia and research organisations. The issues are restricted to career trajectory from postgraduate years to senior faculty for educators and researchers.

Each section includes a discussion of the theoretical and empirical literature, with practical, evidence-based solutions listed in text boxes, capturing my long-standing career in equity and diversity program management, education and research.

This resource is split into five pages, for the purposes of improving reading experience; however, all five sections are intended to paint an holistic picture for social change. (If you prefer, read this resource as one PDF). 

Explore the themes via this detailed table of contents:

1. Introduction and intersectionality: how gender and racial inequalities are interconnected and compound other forms of social exclusion, such as sexuality, disability, class, age and so on.
   1. Indigenous scholars: racial injustice; and senior leadership
   2. Meaningful career pathways for Indigenous students and faculty
      • Text Box 1: How to use intersectionality to improve equity and diversity strategy
      • Text Box 2: How to promote careers of Indigenous scholars
2. Equity: barriers, issues and solutions to structural disadvantage.
   1. Gender equity in service: “fix the women” approaches; academic service and emotion work; publication; Aboriginal scholarship; public outreach; human rights work by people of colour
      • Text Box 3: How to implement gender equity in hiring and promotion
      • Text Box 4: How to reward public service and activism
   2. “Motherhood penalty”: pay; Indigenous mothers
      • Text Box 5: How to remove the motherhood bias
   3. Fatherhood bonus: childcare and parental leave
      • Text Box 6: How to promote equitable parental leave and part-time work options
   4. Work/life balance: long working hours; impact on family time
      • Text Box 7: Actively promote work/life balance
3. Diversity: protections and promotion of differences to achieve equal opportunity
   1. Workplace culture and bullying
      • Text Box 8: How to create a culture that welcomes diversity
   2. Exploitation of precariously employed workers
      • Text Box 9: Eliminate the exploitation of precarious workers
   3. Support for early-to-mid-career scholars
      • Text Box 10: Retaining early-to-mid career workers
4. Inclusion: actively seeking out, valuing and respecting differences
   1. LGBTQIA scholars: lack of inclusion; engagement
      • Text Box 11: How to evaluate & improve policies for LGBTQIA+ staff
   2. Transgender staff and students: gender pronouns; intersectionality; policies
      • Text Box 12: How to support transition
5. Access: creating, measuring and redesigning opportunities to enhance participation by underrepresented groups
   1. Accomodations for student accessibility
   2. Discrimination of disabled faculty
   3. Curriculum, skills and support
   4. Disabled women of colour
      • Text Box 13: How to begin addressing accessibility
6. Notes
   • Learn more

This project has taken me two years from start to finish, with a lot of heart ache and bumps along the way. This is one of the main reasons I’ve blogged less over the past year or so, as bringing this together took most of my time and energy, when I had these to give. Please share, and cite ethically: a lot of people plagiarise my work, and while I publish my knowledge free, please don’t exploit my labour.