x Introduction factor for inequity has been the shared history of colonialism that has impacted most, if not all, of the current societies on the planet. Colonial- ism assumed the superiority and exceptionalism of a colonists over those they colonized, infusing many of the assumptions of colonialism instilled in nations with colonial roots. Hierarchies were deemed to be an accept- able form of social organization within those societies. Exploitation as a colonial value enabled intergenerational wealth and political power for the privileged whereas those who were conquered and exploited were left with intergenerational inequity. Privilege was not only unacknowledged but sanctioned among the mainstream in colonial nations, to the detri- ment of those who were not granted privilege. Colonialism has sanctioned social inequity between the colonists and the people they conquered or exploited, and many of the psychological consequences of those inequities persist to the present day. Additional global sources of inequity emerge from social disempower- ment and dehumanization. Unfortunately, many of those disempowered by colonialism have been people of color, who have suffered the brunt of psychological consequences globally for centuries. Colonialism has con- tributed immensely to global inequity in education, health, income, and wealth among people of color (Chancel, Piketty, Saez, & Zucman, 2022 Schmelkes, 2021 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2020 World Health Organization, 2022). Immigrants and refugees also experience disempowerment and often are dehumanized by others globally. Being an immigrant or refugee who is also minoritized because of race or ethnicity can compound the experience of inequities with seri- ous psychological consequences. Intersectionality tends to compound both disempowerment and dehu- manization globally. For example, inherent risks of inequity from ethnic and racial discrimination and prejudice are compounded by intersec- tional risks associated with religious discrimination as discussed in this volume. Women of color also experience significant inequity globally and often are targeted by intersectional acts of sexism and racism in pri- vate and public settings, especially the workplace. Since many women of color by necessity must work under difficult conditions and long hours due to the inherent economic inequities they face, the risk for exposure to the psychological distress of sexism in the workplace (e.g., due to low wages and sexual harassment) is likely compounded. The global con- text of colonization and its racialized and hierarchical reframing of real- ity have contributed to great stigmatic challenges to those living with intersectional identities. However, with those challenges being acknowl- edged, intersectionality also provides resilience in the wealth of diverse gifts available at the intersections of identity. In a decolonized existence, the stigma would be eliminated, thereby enhancing the potential gifts of an intersectional identity. Celebrating the richness of diversity would promote equity.
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