With Kamala Harrris poised to run for President, she will face bias. Be an ally by limiting microaggressions, watching out for the blame game and the use of monoliths.
With President Biden stepping aside, Kamala Harris is poised to be the frontrunner 2024 Democratic presidential candidate. Given that this is the first woman of color to be on the ballot for President of the United States, there will be unique issues that Harris will have to face. Having intersectional identities different from the majority of presidential candidates before her, Harris is likely to face the misogynoir stereotype. Moya Bailey originally coined the term and defines it as “the specific hatred, dislike, distrust, and prejudice directed toward Black women.”
In my interview with Raven Solomon, the author and diversity, equity and inclusion expert explained, “The obvious upside of Harris running is that there are so many opportunities for people to connect with her – not just as a woman, but also as a person of color with multiple ethnicities. Yet, the downside to her intersectional identities is the misogynoir stereotype. There are unique experiences women of color face with compounded marginalization.”
While Hillary Clinton faced tremendous gender bias as the 2016 presidential candidate, Harris will face unique challenges because of the misogynoir stereotype and her intersectional identities. “What white women need to understand is there is a difference for women of color. Rather than comparing Kamala to Hillary, white women in particular really need to reflect on these differences and interrupt intersectional microaggressions when they see them,” Solomon said.Intersectional Microaggressions
Women of color are much more likely to experience microaggressions, especially in leadership roles. Common microaggressions found in McKinsey & Company’s research are being interrupted or spoken over more than others, having your judgment questioned, or having others comment on your emotional state. There’s also disrespectful behaviors like hearing people express surprise at your language skills or abilities, hearing or overhearing insults about your culture, being confused with someone else of the same race or ethnicity, feeling like you’re expected to speak on behalf of all the people of your identity, or having others comment on your hair or appearance.
