Re-imagining Intersectionality: Contextualizing Wheel of Privilege in the Case of Nepal

Intersectionality has emerged as an important concept within the discourse of diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), representation, and social justice, enabling us to critically explore and understand the relational, multi-dimensional, and multi-layered nature of power and privilege. As it continues to influence DEI initiatives across the globe, it is important to note that intersectionality was primarily developed in the Western context. Despite good intentions, an 'uncontextualized' transfer, translation, and adaptation of intersectionality poses a threat to its impact because a country's political, historical, economic, social, and cultural contexts critically shape the definition and manifestation of power and privilege. In this study, we integrate findings from qualitative interviews with DEI practitioners with extant literature and our lived experiences to contextualize and discuss intersectionality for Nepali institutions. Our results advance the theoretical understanding of DEI in a newly researched setting and provide practical implications for the advancement of DEI practices. Additionally, the developed intersectionality wheel of power and privilege, provides a framework to understand the interplay of different identities in an individual's proximity to power and privilege, thereby, redifining marginalization in Nepali institutions beyond 'demographic' attributes