Intersectionality, Institutions, and Public Policy

Abstract

Extant research on intersectionality suggests that, in the words of Wendy Smooth, “systems of oppression and hierarchy are neither interchangeable nor are they identical…. [S]ocial categories have differing organizing logics in that race works differently than gender, class, or sexuality. Power associated with these categories is [not] configured in the same ways … [and] therefore [various intersections] cannot be treated identically” (2013, 22). This panel holds institutional context constant -- focusing on Germany -- and examines how differently-marginalized groups – including low-skill women, immigrant girls, women in the military, and the intersexed – experience varying degrees of success in obtaining policy responses from the state.