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Previous research has examined the impact of single-dimensional identities on tie disparities, but when multiple identities intersect, network disadvantages accumulate nonlinearly, disproportionately harming individuals belonging to several disadvantaged groups. However, how multidimensional connection preferences affect network dynamics and amplify or mitigate differences in ties remains unknown. Using a network model, we characterize the effects of multidimensional preferences and attribute correlation. We find that correlation creates counterintuitive tie inequalities unobservable in one-dimensional systems. We calibrate the model with high school friendship data and derive closed-form expressions for tie inequalities, which reproduce the empirical patterns with remarkable accuracy. Our findings have substantial implications for addressing intersectional inequalities in social networks.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.adu9025","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,5]],"date-time":"2025-11-05T18:58:58Z","timestamp":1762369138000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Intersectional inequalities in social ties"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5685-7834","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Samuel","family":"Martin-Gutierrez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Network Inequality and Algorithmic Fairness Group, Complexity Science Hub, Metternichgasse 8, 1030 Wien, Austria."},{"name":"Institute of Interactive Systems and Data Science, Graz University of Technology, Sandgasse 36, 8010 Graz, Austria."},{"name":"Grupo de Sistemas Complejos, ETS de Arquitectura de Madrid, Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid, Av. 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