Kimberlé Crenshaw

A leading scholar and civil rights advocate, Kimberlé Crenshaw (born 1959) challenges the notion that all women have a common life experience. Her work on race, gender, and law has attracted international attention.
In 1989, she coined the term "intersectionality,” which describes how an individual’s multiple identities affect the way she experiences discrimination. Crenshaw cites a case in which Black women sued General Motors, claiming that the company segregated the work force by race and gender. Black men were hired for jobs on the factory floor, white women were hired as secretaries, and Black women were seldom hired at all.