Abstract: This study aims to offer a synthesized framework for intersectionality research (IR) and to critically analyze intersectionality studies in human resource development (HRD) based on the framework. We examine previous studies on intersectionality to develop a framework for IR, which comprises 10 approaches that are classified into four perspectives: (a) conceptual, (b) category-based (intra-categorical, inter-categorical, and anti-categorical), (c) alternative philosophy-based (critical realist and transnational), and (d) alternative analysis-based (systemic, multi-level, emic, and paradigm). We then utilize the framework to analyze 16 articles on intersectionality published in journals sponsored by the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). The results revealed four characteristics of the studies. We found that IR in AHRD journals centered on (a) an intra-categorical approach, (b) the intersection of gender and race, (c) a United States context, and (d) qualitative research methodology. We also found that only a few HRD scholars have recently utilized a more diverse approach to understanding IR. This paper concludes with a call for decentering and diversifying IR in HRD scholarship to analyze and understand the complexity of intersectionality at work.
