Operationalizing Intersectionality in Canada? Equality policy, NGOs and political representation

Canada is near unique internationally in recent high-level political commitments to operationalizing intersectionality, which is timely because amidst increased visibility of movements for racial, and Indigenous, justice, the Canadian government faces competing justice claims. Yet an intersectional approach is antithetical to how inequalities are currently understood and prioritized around gender in Canada (Christoffersen & Hankivsky 2021). This paper shares preliminary findings of multi-method research, including interviews and document analysis, exploring the influence of recent public discourse about racial and Indigenous injustice on the opportunities and challenges for operationalizing intersectionality in Canada, with a unique focus on equity-seeking non-governmental organizations (NGOs). NGOs play a key role in the policy process, and in knowledge production. They set the agenda and frame policy problems to advance particular solutions while silencing others. Moreover, as unelected representatives (Saward 2009) they are political actors that play a critical, underexplored role in the political representation of intersectionally marginalized groups. NGOs play an ambivalent role in applying intersectionality requiring critical interrogation (Christoffersen 2021): they have the potential to both further and hamper efforts for intersectional justice. What policy responses to racial and Indigenous injustice do NGOs advocate for, and how do these compare and interact? How do equity-seeking NGOs conceptualize and operationalize intersectionality? To forge a path through a politically contested landscape, these questions represent pressing avenues of inquiry in Canada and internationally.