#279 Intersection, Identity, and Engineering

Engineering Matters

The concept of intersection has given society a new way to understand identity. It has profound implications for how we understand ourselves and others in our workplaces. For engineers, it can inform how projects are designed, and how they meet the needs of diverse users.

The concept was developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw, and draws on her analysis of a 1970s discrimination claim brought by Emma DeGraffenreid. DeGraffenreid’s potential employer had successfully defended the claim, by pointing out that it was not racist—it employed Black men in production—and was not sexist—it employed white women in administration. But as a Black woman, DeGraffenreid was discriminated against due to the intersection of these two aspects of her identity.

Crenshaw’s work seeks to inform the justice system. But her insight that discrimination can be shaped by multiple facets of our complex identities, has much wider implications. In this episode, we consider what this view of identity means for engineering workplaces, and the work engineers deliver.

Guests

Claire Sarafilovic, director, project and programme services, AtkinsRéalis

Rebecca Crowther, ED&I lead for the UK and Ireland, AtkinsRéalis

Adam Lawrence, associate acoustician, AtkinsRéalis; chair, HSP Support Group

References

Kimberlé Crenshaw TED talk on The urgency of intersectionality

Partner

AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading professional services and project management company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. Employing over 37,000 people across Canada, the US and Latin America, the UK and Ireland, and Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, AtkinsRéalis creates sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world’s infrastructure and energy systems.

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