Race and Gender

Ethnicity, gender, and race are hierarchical social constructs that segment societies by cultural norms and characteristics that are dynamic and underpin discrimination. As the United States becomes more diverse, identifying discrimination based on gender, race, or ethnicity will be more complexed. An increase in interracial- and intraracial-ethnic and interracial marriages will produce children who are racially ambiguous, that is, children who are difficult to categorize into racial and ethnic categories. Additionally, as society expands cultural norms around gender and gender identity, it may be challenging to discern discriminatory treatment due to gender. Kim (Intersectionality and gendered racism in the United States: a new theoretical framework. Rev Radical Polit Econ, 616–625, 2020) suggests that gendered racism – the intersection of racial and gender stereotypes about ethics, intellect, masculinities, leadership, and nurturing ascribed to race, ethnic, and gender groups – is reinforced by education, legal, and penal systems. These stereotypes also influence how data are collected and reported (Sharpe, We’ve to build the pipeline. What’s the problem? What’s next? The Remix. Rev Black Polit Econ, 191–215, 2019), limiting data availability to identify discrimination or other biases. An inclusive and equitable society requires data collection and the disaggregation of data, so intersectional analysis can be used to explain how our complex identities underpin bias and discrimination. Feminist and gender scholars know that gender, ethnicity, and race operate differently across and within groups. Given data limitations, scholars and policymakers must 1) start with data that allow for disaggregation by characteristics outlined in the literature to influence the outcome in question; 2) report findings with a keen eye for the nuanced differences in outcomes; and 3) interpret the findings using an intersectional approach.