Table 2 Intersectionality in the workplace

Crenshaw frequently uses the example of DeGraffenreid v. General Motors to illustrate the way in which the application of a “single axis” framework fails to account for ways in which multiple axes of one’s social identity interact to constitute and reinforce discrimination and oppression. In Degraffenreid, Black women plaintiffs brought a claim of employment discrimination against General Motors, alleging that the exclusion of Black women from employment in the company was the result of compounded discrimination based on their race and gender. The court dismissed the plaintiffs’ case, finding that plaintiffs did not state a valid gender discrimination claim because General Motors employed white women in office jobs and further that plaintiffs failed to state a legally cognizable race discrimination claim because the company employed Black men in factory jobs (Crenshaw 1989).

In our research, we understand the intersectionality of our participants in the following way:

1. First axis of oppression: racial bias and discrimination (racism)

2. Second axis of oppression: sex/gender bias and discrimination

3. Third axis of oppression: pregnancy bias and discrimination

4. Fourth axis of oppression: socioeconomic status bias and discrimination