Daniya and I had an excellent visit to the St. Louis Federal Reserve last week. The feedback from my presentation and conversations afterward reminded me of how those of us doing equity work can be so focused on our mission that we miss our blind spots.
Class Bias
My interest in self-employed women was identifying racial and ethnic differences in the type of businesses women create and if that varied by location. I have a visceral reaction to conversations about the inequality between men and women, which completely ignore the intra-gender inequality between females (sex) and women (gender). The different dates for Pay Equity Day are evidence of the disparity between females.
The discussion after my presentation expanded on how the data could be used to influence initiatives that support entrepreneurship at the local level. Neelu Panth noted that this data would have been helpful when working with a nonprofit organization that worked with families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) who also had small businesses. While disaggregating the data to see the nuances by family structure and income is of interest, it was not my central focus.
Another attendee suggested looking at Emily Oster’s parent data as a model. He later told me he uses Emily’s work to support his wife, especially concerning naps. I suggested his response was class biased and that working mothers don’t have the luxury of worrying about their kid’s nap time. I felt good about making this point until I realized I had failed to think about this group in my presentation!
Blind Spot Indicator
Unlike many cars, policy research and advocacy work do not have a blind spot indicator. Those of us doing this work rely on the grace and wisdom of others to point them out. This comment on school choice by Condoleezza Rice, Director of the Hoover Institution, provided an example of class bias and a blind spot. Dr. Rice notes that we have a school choice system – parents with means buy homes in good school districts or send their children to private schools. Yet, some of these parents are against school vouchers for children with fewer means to attend better schools.
As the election cycle progresses, I am hopeful that we will not express our differences with bullets. Condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore, the father and husband killed at the Trump Rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Wishing a speedy recovery for former President Trump, David Dutch, and James Copenhaver.
