Here’s how organizations can put intersectionality to work
Institutions need to incorporate an understanding of intersectionality into their policies and practices – including recruitment and leadership style.
Kyle Zimmer is the President, CEO and Co-founder of First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise that is dedicated to elevating educational opportunities for children from low-income families (ages 0-18 yrs). To accomplish its work, First Book has aggregated the largest community of adults in the lives of children in need across the US and Canada, now numbering more than 600,000 members. The organization has built a family of revenue-generating social enterprises to serve this community, including First Book Research & Insights; the First Book Accelerator; and the First Book Marketplace. These enterprises use real-time data and market leverage to elevate the voice of practitioners and to deliver low-cost and free high-quality, relevant books and the widest range of educational resources, and to deliver field-leading expertise to those serving children in poverty. Since its founding in 1992, First Book has distributed more than 250 million books and educational resources, with a value of more than $2 billion. Kyle serves on the Schwab Foundation’s Working Group for AI for Social Innovation. She also serves on the Board of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P., and is a member of the Forbes Nonprofit Council. She served on the international Board for Ashoka for 26 years.
Institutions need to incorporate an understanding of intersectionality into their policies and practices – including recruitment and leadership style.
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"As social entrepreneurs, we need to do what we do best: examine our field and identify challenges, then find solutions to propel our work forward."