Intersectionality and Education Attainment
Similar to the barriers presented as a result of the role of social reproductive labor, intersectionality presents unique challenges due to factors such as race, gender, class, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, or ethnicity. In the context of education, such identities present increased challenges to attaining education at all levels (primary, secondary, and higher education).
Gender
The burden on social reproductive labor largely affects girls and women, which limits the ability to spend time on schooling. The threat of violence and harassment in schools and in communities is also a barrier to girls being able to safely travel to school and to be safe while in school. Reproduction also limits girls abilities to pursue education and employment as pregnancy is often seen as the end of a girls educational and employment career.
Ethnicity
Girls from marginlized ethnic groups (such as Muslims and Indigenous groups in Kenya) often face discrimination and prejeduce which creates increased barriers to receiving education. This includes exclusion from certain schools, bullying in school, lack of access to financial aid programs, fewer teachers, and inadequate school infrastructures.
Class and Socioeconomic Status
Girls and women from lower-income/impoverished communities may prioritize the education of sons over daughters. This is due to cultural expectations that sons will be financially responsible for their parents in their old age why daughters will be taking care of their husbands families. Additionally, the practice of a dowry (a gift of money, property, or a form of invest from the grooms family to the brides family upon marriage) creates an incentive for lower-income families to marry off their daughters at young ages as they may need the dowry to survive. For some families, the immediate benefits of a dowry is seen as more valuable than the long-term investment of education.
Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation, especially in conservative communities, can be a major barrier to accessing education as members of the LGBTQ+ community may face bullying, harassment, rejection from their families, exclusion from certain schools, forced marriage, and mental health struggles. Rejection from family and forced marriage are particularly severe barriers to education. If a family disowns their daughter, she will have a major lack of resources and support. In some instances, LGBTQ+ individuals may be forced into marriage at an early age to hide their sexual orientation which makes education nearly impossible to obtain due to the further social reproductive work expected from married women.
How WISER Addresses Barriers Caused by Intersectionality
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Providing scholarships to limit the financial burden on families
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Employing local residents to re-invest in the local community
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Emphasize on employing a diverse staff ​
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Investing in healthcare the prevent girls from missing school due to health-related reasons
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Providing menstrual products ​
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Providing HIV testing
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Providing reproductive education ​
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Community health days where residents can receive basic health exams
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Providing a lasting source of clean water in Muhuru Bay, as women primarily are responsible for collecting clean water for their homes, this decreases this burden on girls, allowing them to spend more time on their education
WISER acknowledges the barriers that keep women and girls out of secondary education and claims to eliminate "all physical and monetary barriers". Yet, there is little to no mention of the burden of social reproductive work on the girls themselves. The exclusion of the burden of social reproductive labor limits the ability of WISER to impact future generations. By acknowledging social reproductive labor as a barrier to education for women, the work of WISER will be increasingly beneficial long-term.
