Intersectionality in the workplace: going beyond Pride flags

Intersectionality recognises that LGBTQ+ employees who also hold other marginalised identities face compound barriers that cannot be addressed by single-axis inclusion programmes.

What is intersectionality?

Intersectionality is a framework developed by legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw to describe how overlapping social identities — race, gender, sexuality, class, disability — create overlapping systems of discrimination or privilege. In a workplace context, it challenges the tendency to treat diversity dimensions in silos.

Why intersectionality matters for LGBTQ+ inclusion

The LGBTQ+ community is not homogeneous. A 2023 Williams Institute report found that LGBTQ+ people of colour were twice as likely to live in poverty as white LGBTQ+ people, and three times as likely as white non-LGBTQ+ people. Standard LGBTQ+ inclusion programmes, without an intersectional lens, do not reach this group effectively.

• LGBTQ+ people of colour face racism within some LGBTQ+ spaces and homophobia within some racialised communities
• LGBTQ+ disabled people face additional barriers in inclusion programmes not designed with accessibility in mind
• Trans people of colour face some of the highest rates of workplace discrimination and economic disadvantage

What does intersectional LGBTQ+ inclusion look like?

Disaggregated data: Disaggregate self-ID data by race, disability, and gender to see where inclusion is failing specific groups. Intersectional ERG programming: Joint programming between LGBTQ+ ERGs and BAME, Women’s, and Disability networks on topics like ‘being LGBTQ+ and a person of colour in the workplace’ is more effective than parallel separate programmes. Diverse LGBTQ+ leadership: ERG leadership that reflects the full diversity within the LGBTQ+ community ensures that intersecting identities are represented in advocacy and programme design.

Common pitfalls to avoid

• Single-axis thinking: treating LGBTQ+ inclusion as a single issue without acknowledging differences within the community
• Tokenism: featuring one LGBTQ+ person of colour in communications while the programme does not address intersectional barriers
• Competition between inclusion workstreams: positioning race, gender, and LGBTQ+ inclusion as competing rather than complementary

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