Intersectional psychometrics
I recently watched “Break Free From the Box,” a panel discussion on psychometric evaluation tools convened by the Feminist Coach Academy, a business that supports coaches and other helping professionals in, as Lena West describes it, “broaching, handling and expanding next level conversations about truly intersectional feminism, racism, colonialism, patriarchy, ageism, ableism and extractive capitalism.” Panelists included FCA founders Cameron Airen and Naomi Arnold, FCA advisory board member and founder of Formidable Voices, Sharyn Holmes, and FCA advisory board member and founder of CEO RISING, Lena West.
The big idea here is that psychometric tools should be developed and applied with an intersectional lens, which requires that we understand:
who created them,
their assumptions and the concepts behind them, and
how to use them without replicating the violence of white supremacy, patriarchy, and cis/heteronormativity.
This is critical awareness for coaches and for any leaders who are using these tools in their organizations. For a quick summary, I created the sketchnote below—and I recommend the entire presentation (about 90 min) to folks who use or offer psychometric evaluations in their work. In addition to psychometrics, the panelists also cover good ground on meaningful diversity and inclusion in both personal and organizational networks.
“These inventories and these assessments are used to avoid the emotional labor of getting to know people and doing your due diligence.”