‘All the different hats that we wear’: Panel on intersectionality and women of colour

“As a Black person, I have to prove myself more… Why is that?” commented Fatou Sedore at a panel held at the University of New Brunswick on Feb. 6.

Of Senegalese origin, Sedore has been in Canada since 2009 and resides in Fredericton since 2014. She “loves everything about [Fredericton],” and indicated: “Now Canada is my home.” However, Sedore confessed that culturally, she tries to give her children part of her home country and the traditions her mother taught her.

Sedore navigates what she describes as a dual identity: “When you’re here you try to fit in here, when you go, you try to fit in there, you have to fit in.”

In her eatery, Food by Fatou, generally “people are kind” and encouraging about the work that she is doing. Yet, often individuals don’t think she’s the owner of the business; they assume she is merely an employee. Sedore recounted that a man came into her workplace and disrespected her. She told him: “It’s me Fatou, I’m the owner.”

Sedore wishes there were more people educating the public about “different foods” from different cultures: “It’s missing in Fredericton.”

For Sedore, to better our community, we need to do more of these types of events. “We need to come together… we can do so much,” she added, “It’s 2025, things have to change … for our children.”

Nadia Richards is the Associate Vice-President of Human Rights and Equity at UNB.

About her personal identity, Richards described: “My people were displaced during the transatlantic slave trade.” Raised Catholic, she learned about African spiritualities with her education about history and says her beliefs will continue to shift as she learns more.

For Richards, some of her identities “might be unknown to others” but they are also assumed: “identities people think [she] has.” Richards says that there’s a “misconception” that racialized persons are not necessarily qualified for the jobs that they have. In Richards’ opinion, intersectionality requires navigating barriers, sometimes systemic ones.

Richards has not had experiences where her “identity as a Black woman leads to dehumanization” but has encountered direct discrimination against her as a person of colour in New Brunswick. She shared an anecdote about “a dismissive doctor” faced in recent months.

Richards sees solutions in institutions coming from “true intentionality, not performative.” This is essential to there being change and more diversity: “There needs to be more mechanisms in place to target [and attract] certain populations” of students and professors, for example.

According to Richards, “Allies need to act when something happens so [racialized people] don’t have to carry that labour.”

“These conversations have to be consistent so we can humanize” these experiences, she explained.

Born in Libya and originally from Iraq, Hala Nasir was raised in Ottawa. She moved to Fredericton in Grade 12 and graduated from UNB with a Bachelor of Science with a minor in Anthropology, a subject which sparked her interest in “learning more about culture.”

In joking about her identity, Nasir said: “My younger brothers are paler, there’s sometimes favouritism in the family… relatives have that mentality that ends up having a big impact on us.” But at the same time, Nasir wears a hijab and, during her studies, she said other Muslim women came up to her and saw themselves represented in her.

In employment, Nasir often wonders “Is there that discrimination going on?” She sometimes questions if she is making as much as her White colleagues: “We have to overcompensate for our [racialized] identity.”

At her part-time job, Nasir’s manager “was very accommodating” about prayer, for example, and they have a designated area in the business. According to Nasir, when you have those people that are accommodating and have that cultural competence, “It makes you feel a lot better.”

Nasir previously worked with the Office of Experiential Learning at UNB. The office met with the Anti-Racism Task Force for the City of Fredericton to learn about the need for education and systemic challenges to a variety of different groups. She found this very rewarding.

Nursing student Emma He was also on the panel. Her parents immigrated from China in 2000 and she was born in Fredericton. She is currently co-president of the Asian Student Association at UNB and is excited about the “opportunities” that being part of a marginalized group brings, mentioning scholarships.

For He, Fredericton is now “much more diverse” than when she was younger but she admitted: “I definitely tried to be White” when younger, in order to fit in. She added: “I belong in the sense that I speak English … my Chinese is not the best but, on the outside, I’m ethnically Chinese.”

“I haven’t had any challenges in my professional identity or in school,” He declared. However, she added, “I’m pretty loud” and “people have a preconceived vision of you.” She joked: “Asian women are supposed to be quiet.”

He also talked about having to “filter” her feelings with different health professionals who might not be aware of cultural contexts. She described comments heard by a racialized friend who got into Medical School with White students in her cohort telling her “It must have been easier to get in.”

He admitted she “didn’t think much about intersectionality until this year” in her nursing classes. She added that now she brings her identities “into her profession … to create a safe space” for diverse patients in her practice.

In the university, He established that “saving seats for minorities is not enough.” Institutions need to create a space where diverse people want to apply.

He clarified: “We have classes that are focused on cultural sensitivity.” Professors are trying to be the best allies but, for her, “it’s strange to hear about minorities” from white professors. She advocates for “more diversity within the teaching staff … more guest speakers … [they are] more impactful than just stats.”

Also, some of He’s classmates consider these cultural sensitivity classes as “a filler class” and not as real people’s lived experiences. Emma He explained: “people expect others to throw the information at them all the time” but individuals also have to be active learners. The work cannot only be done by racialised folks.

He says navigating difference is about having people around her who keep encouraging her and have the same thinking as her. She suggests folks “surround themselves with like-minded people.”

Sedore also encouraged the public in attendance to search for this type of individual: “you can find your people, they are here.”

The talk was moderated by Filipino international student Annie Marie Ferrer, a work-study student at the UNB/STU University Women’s Centre, the volunteer-run group hosting the event.

Black History Month activities continue across the province including a panel being held online by the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission and various other organizations on Feb. 28 at 12:00 PM. Interested people can register here.

Sophie M. Lavoie is a member of the NB Media Co-op’s editorial board.