The Importance of Intersectionality in Tech
by Hana Gabrielle Bidon, Program Analyst (she/her)
The following content and/or perspectives are that of the author, and may not necessarily represent the opinions and viewpoints of All Tech Is Human as an organization. One of our roles as an organization is to showcase a broad range of perspectives found throughout the Responsible Tech community. If you have questions or thoughts about the content below, please feel free to reach out directly to the author.
What is Intersectionality?
Intersectionality, a common term in social justice, is a concept that different social identities, such as gender, race, and disability are intertwined and create “overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination and oppression” according to the Oxford Dictionary. Systems of oppression include ableism, racism, sexism, and heterosexism. Everyone on this planet experiences varying levels and forms of oppressions and discrimination navigating this world.
Diversity in Tech
Though there is progress diversifying the tech industry in the United States, statistics suggest that there is still work to do in expanding opportunities in tech for underrepresented minorities, including, but not limited to, people of color and LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, etc.) people and retaining diverse talent. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tech industry was already predominantly composed of white people who make up 68% while Asian Americans only were 14% of the workers in the tech industry (White 2021). The percentages of Hispanics and African Americans in the tech industry are even lower at 8% and 7%, respectively, according to a Diversity in Tech report published by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In tech executive roles, white tech workers make up the vast majority at 83% (White 2021). In contrast, Asian Americans only hold about 11% of tech executive positions and African Americans hold 2% of tech executive roles.
Photo by Isis Parente on Unsplash
When measuring the employment rates of LGBTQ+ people in the tech industry, it can be more difficult to collect reliable data for multiple reasons. Assuming whether someone is in the LGBTQ+ community or not could potentially create uncomfortable situations among work colleagues and at worst, create hostile work environments for LGBTQ+ tech workers. A 2017 TechLeavers study found that LGBTQ+ tech employees are more subjected to bullying (20%) and public humiliation (24%) compared to their non-LGBTQ+ colleagues at 13% and 13%, respectively (Norton 2021). Additionally, self-reporting one’s LGBTQ+ status can be difficult since some LGBTQ+ tech workers “fear potential backlash or bullying” (Norton 2021).
Gaps in the Literature
Unfortunately, these statistics do not fully capture the representation of marginalized communities in the tech industry. When I searched for the employment rates of disabled people in the tech industry in the United States, I was unable to find anything. Most of the top search results in Google mostly pertained to assistive technologies aiding disabled people navigating technology and online spaces. While examining the data in the tech industry, I also wondered how the representation of racial and ethnic minorities who do not identify as U.S. American. In White’s article, she brought up statistics of Asian Americans, African Americans, and Hispanics in the tech industry. I wondered how many of these people who do not consider themselves American are in tech in the United States. What about the representation of Indigenous, Pacific Islanders, and multiracial people in the tech industry in the United States? Furthermore, I could not find many sources that further broke down the representation of racial and ethnic minorities in tech. For example, what is the percentage of East Asians and South Asians compared to Southeast Asians and Central Asians in the tech industry in the United States? What about the rest of Black people who identified as U.S. American versus those who identified with both an African and American culture, and so forth? Not to mention, these statistics do not mention the tech worker’s education background, especially their highest education level (e.g., Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, etc.) nor include workers in the tech industry who came from non-traditional tech backgrounds.
Another observation was that the representation of LGBTQ+ people and disabled people in the tech industry are not well-documented. Part of the reason is that some people who identify with the LGBTQ+ community and/or the disabled community choose not to self-disclose in fear of potential discrimination by their employer and their colleagues. Upon further examination of LGBTQ+ representation in the tech industry, the data does not specify the gender identity sexuality that the tech worker identifies as. Often, self-reporting LGBTQ+ status during employment does not break down various sexualities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer, along with gender identities like nonbinary and gender non-conforming; rather, it lumps all these sexualities and gender identities together. Another potential reason is that some LGBTQ+ people identify with multiple labels for their sexuality and/or gender identity. For instance, someone can identify as bisexual and queer as their sexuality while someone else can self-identify as a transgender woman and nonbinary.
Additionally, disability is difficult to categorize. For example, some Deaf people do not consider themselves disabled; rather, there are an underrepresented linguistic minority. Along with that, some neurodivergent people do not consider themselves disabled since they think that their neurodivergence does not disable them from fully functioning and contributing to society. Rather, society has placed barriers on people like them to live and thrive in this world. Other neurodivergent people may identify as disabled because they recognize that their neurodivergence can be disabling and potentially limit them from fully living their lives. Furthermore, there are few sources that account for people with multiple intersectional identities in tech, such as queer neurodivergent people and gender minorities of color (i.e., women, nonbinary people, genderfluid and gender non-conforming people, etc.).
Navigating Tech with Multiple Intersectional Identities
Photo by Women in Computing at Cornell
Personally, navigating tech with multiple intersectional identities is tricky and often results in me hiding parts of my identity to appear more palpable to other people. In the tech industry, the biggest challenge is being 100 percent authentically myself due to the repercussions of being truly myself. In an industry dominated by white men, I feel underrepresented as an Asian-American woman who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and lives with invisible disabilities. Thankfully, I can find online and in-person spaces for women and people of color along with women of color where we can freely share our experiences navigating tech, and discussing our experiences with sexism and/or racism in computing. However, I cannot find spaces for neurodivergent people of color who are also members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Even in spaces designed for women, people of color, and women of color in tech, I still feel alienated from other people due to my invisible disabilities, autism and ADHD, along with my LGBTQ+ status. From nearly two decades of masking my neurodivergence, I force myself to sit still and look other people in the eye when they are talking to indicate that I am listening to them. Also, I forcefully suppress my stimming, which usually comes in the form of playing with my hands and pacing, to appear attentive. Though I can freely share my experiences being a woman of color in tech, I do not feel comfortable sharing my experiences navigating tech with autism and ADHD partially due to negative comments in the past. When I self-disclosed my autism and/or ADHD in the past to other people, I get inappropriate comments, including but not limited to the following: “You don’t look autistic because you’re too intelligent and too “high-functioning.” or “I don’t believe you have ADHD.” Unfortunately, some people make remarks on behaviors behind my back, which is what autistic people and people with ADHD are commonly berated for. Additionally, people have dismissed and invalidated my sexuality. As a result, I must take additional considerations when navigating the tech field. For instance, the first LGBTQ+ identifying STEM professionals I met were two professors in the department of Information Science at my undergraduate university. It was lonely knowing that there were not many people who could relate to being a member of the LGBTQ+ community in a discipline that is predominantly comprised of cisgender and heterosexual people. From these accumulated negative experiences throughout my life, I became less open to sharing my forms of neurodiversity and sexuality with other people in tech and other aspects of my life.
Though I have not found a complete solution yet, I managed to talk to other neurodivergent women of color, women of color, and queer neurodivergent people in the tech industry both online and in real life to share my experiences being in computing. Additionally, I also advocate for myself for accommodations I need at work and other aspects of my life. At the end of the day, I am trying to live and get paid. It can be physically draining being a queer neurodivergent woman of color in tech, but allies who have helped me navigate this industry also helped me stay and not move out.
References
Intersectionality 101: What is it and why is it important? (2019, November 24). Womankind Worldwide. https://www.womankind.org.uk/intersectionality-101-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-important/
Tech’s LGBTQ Report Card: A Long Road Ahead for DEI | eSecurity Planet. (2021, June 29). ESecurityPlanet. https://www.esecurityplanet.com/trends/tech-lgbtq-diversity/
Writer, S. (n.d.). 20 professional organizations focused on diversity in tech. CIO. Retrieved April 14, 2022, from https://www.cio.com/article/193688/professional-organizations-focused-on-diversity-in-tech.html