Systemic discrimination happens on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, sexual preferences or orientation, ability and physical shape. It is perpetuated by an organization (or many) through obvious or hidden policies, decision-making, practices, and education. It is embedded within society and the structures that govern daily life.
Intersectionality is a term used to discuss the experiences of those living within overlapping forms of discrimination; for example, being born black and a woman, intersects to produce and maintain inequality.
The videos below are examples of the various types of systemic discrimination individuals face.
Race
Race Forward and Jay Smooth illustrate in an 8-part series that systemic racism impacts everything from income, housing, employment and education (the list goes on).
Go to https://www.raceforward.org/videos/systemic-racism for more videos and information on Race Forward.
Sex
A PBS news segment describing racism, sexism, and ageism in the workplace.
Ethnicity
A clip from Race Forward and Jay Smooth’s 8-part series on systemic racism and how it relates to ethnicity.
Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Example of systemic discrimination that happens solely because of someones’ sexual orientation.
Ability
Clip addressing discrimination based on ability in the workplace.
Body Size and Shape
Video from Buzzfeed highlighting the stigma around body types that fall outside the ‘norm’ or ‘ideal’ size.
Intersectionality
A video from Teaching Tolerance on how to better understand intersectionality.