Inequality-opoly : learn a structural racism Monopoly like board game

inequality-opoly.com : discover a structural racism and sexism board game? In a world where wealth inequality is increasingly stark, Inequality-opoly serves as both a tool for self-reflection and a space for dialogue about the structural inequality in their everyday lives. As an educational tool, it opens up conversations about topics most people have been afraid to discuss: race, gender and class. The goal is for participants to be able to recognize the benefits and disadvantages of the current system and create an awareness of how structural racism and sexism affects others. Inequality-opoly can be used in schools and workplaces to promote anti-racism, diversity and inclusion. Read additional details on The Game of Structural Racism and Sexism in America.

Diversity And Inclusion tip of the day : Internal communication ools can be of great help to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace. You can create a web of inclusions in the form of stories or real-life incidents. It would help if you described it in a way that shows what makes them unique and posted on the online employee community platform of your company. As others see the previous posts, they look for self connections and add to the link. For example, one employee writes, “ India is my national origin.”, the next person who can relate to it adds, “I once visited India when I was a kid.” and so on… This activity allows coworkers to start a conversation on various topics and compare how they are the same or different.

Interestingly, Clemons pointed out that the original version of Monopoly was an imitation of The Landlord’s Game, an educational board game created at the end of the 19th century by Lizzie Magie for the purpose of showing that monopolies lead to a harmful accumulation of wealth that comes at the expense of others. A few decades later, Charles Darrow, who is typically credited for inventing the game, teamed up with a political cartoonist to create Monopoly – a skillfully redesigned version of Magie’s game, but whose wealth-accumulation objective is essentially the opposite of what Magie was trying to achieve – and sold it to Parker Brothers. (I will pause, if only parenthetically, to point out the irony of a man achieving fame and wealth by copying a woman’s idea and taking credit for it.)

It is perhaps for this reason that I was so delighted when, a few months ago, I was introduced to Perry Clemons, creator of Inequality-opoly: The Board Game of Structural Racism and Sexism in America. As you might guess from the name, Inequality-opoly is inspired by the popular board game Monopoly, with players trying to amass wealth by buying, developing and trading real estate. What makes Inequality-opoly unique is that each player is assigned an identity, and on the basis of their identity some players enjoy privileges while others face obstacles to building wealth.

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 extra details at https://www.inequality-opoly.com/.