The framework of intersectionality was developed by leading legal scholar and UCLA professor of law, Kimberlé Crenshaw, to examine how people with marginalized identities face compounding inequities and disadvantages [1,2]. Intersectionality allows us to understand on a deeper level both overt and subtitles forms of discrimination faced by people in our community and serves to reflect on the social systems of privilege and oppression. Seeing systems of oppression through an intersectional lens is the only way to provide the level of support necessary for our marginalized and intersectional communities to thrive.

1. We recognize that separately identifying women+ and minorities unintentionally renders certain marginalized populations invisible, in particular those whose identities are doubly bound by stereotypes (such as women+ of color) and those who lie outside the default definitions of the two terms (e.g. LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse, and disabled people) [3-5]. Our change in name from WiPA to MIPA (as of July 2020) represents a shift in perspective and framework to prioritize an intersectional approach to addressing compounding inequities in a way we have not considered in the past. We aspire to work against all forms of marginalization, including but not limited to misogyny, racism, anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and ableism. We believe in the collective struggle of all who face marginalization and the importance of allyship in building a more just and fair environment for all.
2. Supporting women+ in the UCLA Physics and Astronomy department is incredibly important and we will continue to do so. Misogyny, on a social and institutional level, has affected not just the academic success of those who identify as women+ in physics and astronomy, it has also inflicted personal, social, and financial harm. We will continue to support women+ alongside other marginalized identities in our department who also face systematic barriers to success.
3. We want to make clear that Black Lives Matter and must acknowledge that decades of unabated anti-black racism in the sciences that has marginalized and impeded Black scientist community--in particular the advancement of Black women+. The BLM movement inspired us to recalibrate and restructure the support we provide to our marginalized communities, provide our BIPOC community a voice, and redefine the grad culture for our intersectional women; in doing so MIPA will continue the work that WiPA carried out in the past and will extend this work to include all marginalized identities and intersectionalities in the department.
4. The climate of STEM fields is increasingly unwelcoming to those who occupy more than one marginalized identity. Research has shown that those who face more than one form of marginalization report greater feelings of isolation, lack of peer and institutional support, and more instances of discrimination and harassment within physics and astronomy [5,6]. An initial step in providing a more equitable and hospitable environment is the acknowledgment that we all have multiple intersecting identities that can help or hinder a career in physics and astronomy. It is therefore critical that we recognize how our social systems interact across intersecting identities and impede the opportunity for marginalized communities to participate within the field. We must contend with the fact that individually addressing marginalized identities continues to perpetuate another kind of marginalization [2,5-7].

Moving forward, our best practices must remain mindful and inclusive, continuing to challenge sociocultural power structures and breaking down barriers between people towards a more equitable departmental environment.

Regards,
The MIPA Committee