Women of colour face compounded discrimination because it's based in both gender and race, which increases significantly barriers to equal pay and career advancements, as well as representation in leadership roles. Indigenous women specifically often experience systemic bias that goes beyond even the gender pay gap. An example of this is in 2024 when the independent investigation office of british columbia was ordered to pay about $52,000 damages after it rescinded a job offer to an indigenous women due to what was described as “adversarial” and “rude” communication style, which the tribunal found was influenced by stereotypes and discriminatory assumptions made about her as an indigenous women (Chan, 2024). This case really highlights that this is an ongoing issue and how racialized and gendered biases can intersect, denying women of colour employment simply based on stereotypes and discrimination reinforce systemic barriers to financial independence and equity in the workplace. 

The intersectionality of class and gender can create significant barriers for lower income women, more specifically in terms of education and employment. For many women, the journey to education is shaped by the economic states that they are in. Financial limitations can stop the access to quality education with many unable to afford the necessary resources or opportunities that higher education needs (National Women's Law Center, 2020). As a result of this, women will often have less opportunities to pursue any advanced degrees of specialized training that a job might require, which can have lasting impacts on their professional prospects. Women with less education typically find themselves in jobs that are not only lower paying, but lower prestige. Additionally they will find themselves with limited opportunities to move forward in their jobs and fewer benefits from companies. The educational and occupational biases faced by lower income women are emphasised by societal expectations and biases surrounding gender. While women alone will already face discrimination through solely their gender it is amplified for women of lower income, as they will have two forces working against them. In order to create a more equal society and workplace it is important to address these intersecting inequalities.

Trans women and non-binary people often face amplified discrimination in the workplace due to their identity. This discrimination can happen as early on as the hiring process and then beyond that, studies have found that 18% say they have experienced job rejection because of their gender identity, and an additional 32% have suspected that there is a bias in their job application (Spiteri & Spiteri, 2024). This bias does not only limit employment rates, but it also causes economic insecurity among many trans women, and workplace exclusion, as well as a reduced chance in career advancements. Many trans women are severely underrepresented in higher paying jobs, and in leadership roles. For trans women in particular this adds another layer to sexism, making equitable access to jobs, fair wages and promotions so much more difficult simply because of their gender identity, which has nothing to do with their education, experience and ability to work.