Intersectionality: Affirmative Action with Multidimensional Identities

Jean-Paul Carvalho (), Bary S. R. Pradelski () and Cole Williams ()
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Jean-Paul Carvalho: Department of Economics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3UQ, United Kingdom
Bary S. R. Pradelski: Department of Economics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3UQ, United Kingdom; and French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Maison Française d’Oxford, Oxford OX2 6SE, United Kingdom
Cole Williams: Department of Economics, Durham University Business School, Durham DH1 3LB, United Kingdom

Management Science, 2025, vol. 71, issue 5, 4495-4509

Abstract: Studying the design of affirmative action policies when identities are multidimensional, we provide a formal demonstration of the importance of intersectionality . Prevailing affirmative action policies are based only on one identity dimension (e.g., race, gender, socioeconomic class). We find that any such nonintersectional policy can almost never achieve a representative outcome. In fact, nonintersectional policies often increase the underrepresentation of underrepresented groups in a manner undetected by standard measures. Examples based on race and gender reveal significant hidden inequality arising from nonintersectional policies. We show how to construct intersectional policies that achieve proportional representation.

Keywords: affirmative action; education; inequality; underrepresentation; identity; intersectionality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:71:y:2025:i:5:p:4495-4509

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