Inequality-opoly : learn a racial inequities board game? Perry Clemons (He/His) is an African-American third-grade teacher from Harlem, N.Y. He has created a board game called Inequality-opoly: The Board Game of Structural Racism and Sexism in America. Inequality-opoly is a custom property trading game that transforms recent national studies into a perspective-taking experience. In this game like, in the real world, certain players based on their perceived identity enjoy privileges while others face obstacles to building wealth. Find additional details on The Game of Structural Racism and Sexism in America.
Diversity And Inclusion recommendation for today : Photos can make for great conversation icebreakers (or Zoom icebreakers in the remote world). A board full of memories related to employees’ personal important life events can create the right spark of communication. The display of such personal mementos in the professional space can speak volumes about the different aspects of employee experiences. It helps the coworkers to see the perspective of others and embrace it, which finally leads to mutual respect and dignity at the workplace.
The idea for this game came to Clemons when he attended diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings, and noticed the difficulties the facilitators faced in demonstrating the effects of racial and gender discrimination in a way that could be engaging and personalized to all the people in the room. As an educator, he realized that the best way to teach or reinforce something is to make it an interactive game. He decided to base the game on Monopoly, America’s favorite board game, but instead of meritocracy, Inequality-opoly shows the inequities of being a part of a marginalized group trying to gain wealth in America. After four years of research, development, and play-testing, Clemons was able to raise some capital through crowdfunding platforms Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and started selling the game to the general public.
As an example, each time you pass the “Start” space, the amount of money you collect depends on your race and gender, based on U.S. wage gap data. And whenever a player lands on a “Life Event” space, they draw a card whose impact is also tied to each player’s race and gender, all of it based on statistics from the U.S. population. Life Event cards include situations such as interactions with the police, generational wealth transfer, or employment; when a card is drawn, each player consults their Identity Card to determine their specific experience.
On top of this, Black women also have greater student loan debt than Black men, white men, and white women. And Urban Institute research shows that in 2016, the typical Black woman heading a household had $0 in home equity. And white women had nearly 10 times the value of stocks and bonds as Black women. These factors contribute to the lack of wealth among older Black women as they approach retirement. Similarly, Black women earn less than white people, despite educational attainment. For example, Black women without a high school diploma earn 61 percent of the median white men’s wages, those with a bachelor’s degree earn 64 percent, and those with more than a bachelor’s degree earn just 60 percent. Find more details at racial inequities board game.