In 1976, five Black women initiated a lawsuit against General Motors, alleging the company’s employment practices violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The case aimed to address the complex discrimination faced by Black women, who were uniquely disadvantaged by the company’s “last hired-first fired” layoff policies. The plaintiffs contended that while General Motors employed Black men and white women, Black women faced a compounded form of discrimination not explicitly recognized by existing legal statutes. The court acknowledged the presence of discrimination but resisted the notion of combining race and gender discrimination into a singular legal argument, arguing that such a combination would go beyond the original scope of the Civil Rights Act.
How to Build an Intersectional Approach to Talent Management
Despite advancements in understanding intersectionality — or overlapping forms of discrimination — in legal theory, its integration into corporate workplace initiatives is lagging. By 2044, half of all Americans will identify as a racial or ethnic minority, and recent data revealed that 7% of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+, including a notable 21% of Gen Z adults — a substantial increase from previous generations. These changing demographics and their connection to the workplace experience underscore an urgent need for organizations to evolve language, policies, and processes to embrace intersectionality. In this article, the authors explore how intersectionality shows up in recruitment, retention, and promotions through the lens of Black employees’ experiences, as well as explore talent-management strategies and real-world examples.