Operationalising intersectionality in politics and policy?

Abstract

This panel considers whether and how the Black feminist theory of intersectionality is operationalised in the interrelated fields of politics, policy and advocacy in diverse contexts. Such operationalisation has been identified as urgent by both activists and scholars, who have also drawn attention to the ways that intersectionality may be co-opted, depoliticised and whitened in these contexts. Papers concerning extra-parliamentary representatives explore claims-making and intersectional contestations within the Catalan feminist movement, and the influence of recent public discourse about racial and Indigenous injustice in Canada on the opportunities and challenges for operationalizing intersectionality, focusing on equity-seeking NGOs. Papers on policy critically consider invocations of intersectionality in EU equality policy, including the recently adopted ‘Union of Equality’ strategies, and Afro-Swedish perspectives on attempted implementation of intersectionality within Swedish gender equality policy. The final paper applies an intersectional analysis to the study of Black masculinities, showing how race has been constructed as a tool to sustain hegemonic masculinity and whiteness.

Title	Details
Always Gender but Not Only Gender: Difficulties of Adapting Intersectionality in Swedish State Feminism	View Paper Details
Operationalizing Intersectionality in Canada? Equality policy, NGOs and political representation	View Paper Details
A Union of Equality: A Promising Step Forward or a Missed Opportunity to be Truly Intersectional?	View Paper Details
Privilege and disadvantage in contesting intersectional representation claims	View Paper Details