The content outlines comprehensive strategies for tech companies to promote intersectional inclusion: enforcing detailed anti-discrimination policies, mandating bias-reducing hiring, conducting equity audits, offering intersectional training, supporting marginalized talent, enabling flexible work, funding ERGs, integrating diversity into governance, strengthening legal protections, and incentivizing inclusion efforts.
What Policy Changes Are Needed to Foster Systemic Intersectional Inclusion in the Technology Sector?
AdminThe content outlines comprehensive strategies for tech companies to promote intersectional inclusion: enforcing detailed anti-discrimination policies, mandating bias-reducing hiring, conducting equity audits, offering intersectional training, supporting marginalized talent, enabling flexible work, funding ERGs, integrating diversity into governance, strengthening legal protections, and incentivizing inclusion efforts.
Empowered by Artificial Intelligence and the women in tech community.
Like this article?
Intersectionality in Inclusion Efforts
Interested in sharing your knowledge ?
Learn more about how to contribute.
Sponsor this category.
Implement Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Policies
Organizations should enforce detailed anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies that explicitly address the intersection of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, and other identities. These policies must go beyond generic statements to include protocols for reporting, investigating, and resolving complaints with transparency and accountability.
Mandate Inclusive Hiring and Promotion Practices
Policy changes should require technology companies to adopt hiring and promotion frameworks that actively reduce bias. This includes structured interviews, diverse hiring panels, blind resume reviews, and clear criteria that recognize varied career paths, ensuring opportunities for intersectionally marginalized candidates.
Require Regular Equity Audits and Transparency
Instituting mandatory equity audits can help organizations identify disparities in pay, retention, and advancement among different demographic groups. Publicly reporting these findings encourages accountability and drives systemic changes to close opportunity gaps within the sector.
Develop Intersectional Training Programs
Workplace training should be redesigned to incorporate intersectionality, educating employees about how overlapping identities influence experiences of discrimination and privilege. This fosters empathy, reduces unconscious bias, and builds allyship among diverse teams.
Expand Access to Education and Skill-Building for Marginalized Groups
Policies should support scholarships, mentorships, and upskilling programs aimed at underrepresented and intersectionally marginalized individuals. Partnering with educational institutions and community organizations helps create diverse talent pipelines into technology careers.
Promote Flexible and Accessible Work Environments
To accommodate employees with diverse needs—such as caregivers, people with disabilities, and neurodiverse individuals—policies must encourage flexible work hours, remote options, and physical accessibility. This inclusivity helps retain talent that might otherwise be excluded.
Establish Intersectional Employee Resource Groups ERGs
Encouraging and funding ERGs that represent overlapping identities provides safe spaces for community building and advocacy. These groups can inform company policies and practices to better support systemic inclusion.
Integrate Intersectionality into Product Development and Company Governance
Policies should mandate that diversity and intersectionality considerations influence product design, marketing, and corporate decision-making. This systemic approach ensures technology solutions serve a broad range of users and that governance structures reflect diverse perspectives.
Strengthen Legal Protections Related to Intersectional Discrimination
Legislation must evolve to recognize intersectional identities explicitly, ensuring that legal protections and remedies address compounded discrimination rather than isolated categories. This helps close gaps in existing civil rights and labor laws relevant to the tech sector.
Incentivize Companies Through Funding and Certification
Government and industry bodies can create incentives such as tax benefits, grants, or certifications for companies that demonstrate genuine progress on intersectional inclusion metrics. This fosters an environment where inclusive practices are financially and reputationally rewarded.
What else to take into account
This section is for sharing any additional examples, stories, or insights that do not fit into previous sections. Is there anything else you'd like to add?