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Dr. Sara DiazWGST 303: The *isms: Race, Class, and GenderGonzaga University
Workplace Discrimination
Andi Zeisler
Dear Mr. Benitez & Mr. Mondragon
• Write them a letter (I won’t send it!):
• What stood out most from the talk they gave last Thursday?
• IF you went to the monologues, what stood out most from the performances?
• How do the things that stood out to you relate to the work & family discussions we’ve had in class.
Two American Families
•What stood out?
•What did you learn about families and work?
Intersectionality - History
• Sojourner Truth• “Ain’t I a Woman?”
• Black Feminist Movement 1970s – Combahee River Collective• The most general statement of our politics at the
present time would be that we are actively committed to struggling against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression, and see as our particular task the development of integrated analysis and practice based upon the fact that the major systems of oppression are interlocking. (1977)
Intersectionality - History
• Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989) – Legal scholar • Workplace discrimination laws only allowed bias
claims along one category of discrimination. Race OR Gender OR Religion, but not both.• This left some black women who’s experience sits
at the “intersection” between race and gender with no legal recourse for bias claims in the workplace. • The “intersection” metaphor was a bit more literal• Intersection as place for “collisions” which left black
women injured.
Intersectionality in Dukes v. Walmart
• Crenshaw’s argument is still current:• 2011 Supreme Court decision ruled that 1.6
million women Walmart workers could not be defined as a single “class” because of the fact that some of their discrimination claims were also about race and class.• The case is proceeding in a state-by-state
manner. But the SCOTUS decision set precedent.
Discussion
• Employment Discrimination
• What do we know about it based on the resume study?
• What are some of the experiences of workplace discrimination described in the Walmart v Dukes case?
• How does employment discrimination effect consumers (of various races, classes, genders)?
• Your questions
SDI discussion
• In groups:
• Can a single with no kids person make it on minimum wage get by on minimum wage in your city & state?
• How about a person with your socially defined identities?
• How does the hardship effect the scenario?
• How do you make decisions about how to get by in your scenarios?
Dr. Sara DiazWGST 303: The *isms: Race, Class, and GenderGonzaga University
Workplace Discrimination
Andi Zeisler
Intersectionality - History
• Sojourner Truth• “Ain’t I a Woman?”
• Black Feminist Movement 1970s – Combahee River Collective• The most general statement of our politics at the
present time would be that we are actively committed to struggling against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression, and see as our particular task the development of integrated analysis and practice based upon the fact that the major systems of oppression are interlocking. (1977)
Intersectionality - History
• Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989) – Legal scholar • Workplace discrimination laws only allowed bias
claims along one category of discrimination. Race OR Gender OR Religion, but not both.• This left some black women who’s experience sits
at the “intersection” between race and gender with no legal recourse for bias claims in the workplace. • The “intersection” metaphor was a bit more literal• Intersection as place for “collisions” which left black
women injured.
Intersectionality in Dukes v. Walmart
• Crenshaw’s argument is still current:• 2011 Supreme Court decision ruled that 1.6
million women Walmart workers could not be defined as a single “class” because of the fact that some of their discrimination claims were also about race and class.• The case is proceeding in a state-by-state
manner. But the SCOTUS decision set precedent.
Discussion
• Employment Discrimination
• What do we know about it based on the resume study?
• What are some of the experiences of workplace discrimination described in the Walmart v Dukes case?
• How does employment discrimination effect consumers (of various races, classes, genders)?
• Your questions
SDI discussion
• In groups:
• Can a single with no kids person make it on minimum wage get by on minimum wage in your city & state?
• How about a person with your socially defined identities?
• How does the hardship effect the scenario?
• How do you make decisions about how to get by in your scenarios?
