The impact of intersectionality in the workplace

Gina Messina, Ph.D. 01/24/2021

African American woman leader representing intersectionality in the workplace

Intersectionality in the workplace: the implications on leadership. During the 2012 presidential election, Oprah Winfrey shared that she was continually being bombarded with questions about who she would support: Barack Obama, the Black candidate, or Hillary Clinton, the female candidate. She said that the question assumed that she could split her identity. But as a black woman, she couldn’t, she identified with both of them. In that moment, Winfrey gave us a window into the experience of intersectionality. She sparked a conversation about a concept that has been voiced for decades by those at the margins of mainstream America. Read more: What is intersectionality and why is it important? Seeking to highlight that one’s lived experience cannot simply be reduced to the sum of racism…

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Categories: Institute of Women, Wellness & Work

Tags: intersectionality, workplace

Gina Messina, Ph.D.

longevity, diversity, and intersectionality

Intersectionality and longevity: who gets to live the longest, healthiest lives?

Intersectionality is a term that describes the overlapping inequalities many of us face as women, as people of color, as older adults, as members of the LGBTQ+ community, as those who are differently abled. The lived experience of a Black woman, for example, is different than that of a Caucasian woman or a Black man. And the experience of a Black woman over 65 is different yet again – she faces an additional “layer” of inequality. Read more: What is intersectionality and why is it important? Intersectionality considers each of us as having a combination of social identities that impact the opportunities available to us, the power we hold, and the discrimination and oppression we may face. Most people probably don’t think of intersectionality in…

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Stacey OBrien 03/09/2021

Minda Harts’ The Memo and How to Address Work Place Racism

How to address workplace racism. I recently read Minda Harts best-selling book The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table. She’s a professor of public service at NYU Wagner, host of the podcast Secure Your Seat, and the CEO of The Memo, a career development platform for women of color. To begin, it is important for me to acknowledge that I am not a woman of color, but I am an ally and am always focused on reading about ways I can become more aware of the many forms of racism and oppression that exist in our communities and contribute to positive change. Likewise, I believe our youth – including the students in my classroom – are…

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 04/11/2022

Music and Spirituality

Music has the ability to convey messages of greater meaning that can unify and allow us to recognize one another’s humanity. A song is a shared story, an opportunity to know we are not alone, and to learn from one another. It can be perceived as a prayer, a prophetic message, a call to action, and a life philosophy.

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 04/06/2021

A Simple 4-Step Approach to Building a Grateful and Empowered Environment

As we look forward to family, food and a little break from our regularly scheduled programs this week, I find it hard not to shine a light on the benefits of being grateful. Since most things you read this week will be focused on gratitude, my thoughts leading up to this Tip threw me back to the post-training practice ritual we used for years with our teams. This is a simple, yet powerful way to end any training session or meeting and send the participants, no matter what their age, off with a shot of positive emotion. Each day, our practice plan included a “quote of the day.” Each day’s quote was chosen intentionally to fit the time of the season, the goal of the…

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Julie Jones 11/21/2022

adoption day on Good Friday. My family resurrected.

A Family Resurrected

Today, Good Friday, marks the ninth anniversary of one of the most significant dates in my life – the adoption of my daughter, Sarah.

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 04/18/2022

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