This video is for those of you that represent offices, departments, or organizations and want some concrete ideas of how you can promote changes that promote intersectional advocacy.

First, consider having a policy audit where you look at your organization’s policies to determine their intersectional impact. Consider how they impact an Asian woman as opposed to a Black man or an immigrant woman. When you notice there is a difference in impact on certain groups, these become areas to consider making changes.

Document your data in ways that reflect people’s intersecting identities. Rather than looking at how many men or women use your services, or how many Black, Asian, or Latinos use your programs, make sure you have a way of capturing intersecting identities so you know how many Black women or Latino men you employ, or how many Asian men are using your services.

Have an intersectional assessment of your Diversity Equity & Inclusion Practices. Similar to the policy audit, the goal here is to see how your DEI efforts impact people differently. What we know is, If we ensure our practices allow those with the most marginalized identities to thrive, then the end result will be that all people thrive because when the needs of those with marginalized identities are met, the needs of all our people will be met.

And incentivize deeper Inclusion beyond numerical representation. Go beyond counting the number of people you have in each category to ensure that everyone has a sense of belonging, their opinions are valued, and their perspectives are considered in your decision-making. Reward those teams that foster inclusion beyond just numerical representation.

Hire DEI experts, facilitators, and mediators that understand intersectionality in the workplace and understand how inclusion yields excellence and improved organizational outcomes across the board.

Finally, I encourage you to look for intersectional failures. Look for what happens in your organization when that intersectional lens is missing. If we think about the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas debacle, what could have happened? How much further along could the #METOO movement be now if we could have heard Anita Hill’s experiences of racialized sexual harassment and understood them to be legitimate, relevant to all women, and worthy of all of our outrage? We could be decades ahead in our movement.

I hope these suggestions provide a few initial steps for moving your organization forward in its intersectional practice.