Inequality-opoly : play a structural racism Monopoly like board game? Perry Clemons (He/His) is an African-American third-grade teacher from Harlem, N.Y. He has created a board game called Inequality-opoly: The Board Game of Structural Racism and Sexism in America. Inequality-opoly is a custom property trading game that transforms recent national studies into a perspective-taking experience. In this game like, in the real world, certain players based on their perceived identity enjoy privileges while others face obstacles to building wealth. Find even more information on racial inequities board game.
Diversity And Inclusion recommendation of the day : Photos can make for great conversation icebreakers (or Zoom icebreakers in the remote world). A board full of memories related to employees’ personal important life events can create the right spark of communication. The display of such personal mementos in the professional space can speak volumes about the different aspects of employee experiences. It helps the coworkers to see the perspective of others and embrace it, which finally leads to mutual respect and dignity at the workplace.
When I played Inequality-opoly, I was deeply impressed by how population statistics come to life as each player experiences the many ways in which race and gender have a dramatic and significant impact on daily life events. But even more impressive – and depressing – is the realization of the inevitability of the unfairness in the game’s ultimate outcome. It is the clear connection between cause and effect, in this case the link from systemic racism and sexism to the lived experiences of individuals, that makes Inequality-opoly such a powerful educational tool.
One of the things that originally drove me to work in the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) space was the stark contrast between the gut-wrenching emotions of hearing about specific experiences of individuals in a given demographic group, and the detached analysis of statistical, population-level data that describe the group as a whole. This is true for any type of societal context: in the workplace, talking about the high churn rate of women does not convey the kinds of individual stories we heard thanks to the #metoo movement; in a city, the statistics about disproportionate policing of Black people does not begin to convey the sensations we get when we watch videos of George Floyd’s murder.
And the COVID-19 pandemic (PDF) widened these disparities because Black women were more likely to work in occupations and sectors heavily affected by the economic downturn, such as health care and social services, educational services, retail, and accommodation and food services. Black women who stayed employed during the pandemic faced a disproportionate risk of virus exposure because they are overrepresented in essential work, working in close physical proximity to others, and paid less when in those roles. None of these disparities are accidental. They stem from the interlocking systems of white supremacy and sexism that permeate US institutions’ policies and practices. These forces shaped the historical devaluing of Black women’s labor for centuries. See more information at structural racism Monopoly board game.