WORKING TO BRINGING THE VOICES OF MARGINALIZED WOMEN INTO SOCIAL POLICIES AND DEBATES

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WORKING TO BRINGING THE VOICES OF MARGINALIZED
WOMEN INTO SOCIAL POLICIES AND DEBATES

• Jo-Anne Lee and Lise Martin
• CANADIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT
  OF WOMEN
• Updated June 6, 2006

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CRIAWS APPROACH

• LINKAGES BETWEEN COMMUNITY AND UNIVERSITY BASED
  RESEARCH EVOLVING SINCE 1976
• IN 2004, CRIAW MADE A STRATEGIC DECISION TO FOCUS
  ITS WORK ON WOMENS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
  OVERCOMING POVERTY AND EXCLUSION (WESJOPE)

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CONTEXT OF WORK

• CRIAW IS INVOLVED IN INTEGRATING MARGINALIZED
  WOMENS VOICES. WE HAVE TO BE READY TO TRULY HEAR
  THEIR VOICES
• CRIAW IS COMMITTED TO FACILITATING WOMENS VOICES
  IN THE POLICY PROCESS, EG. THE CANADA SOCIAL
  TRANSFER (CST) RESEARCH PROJECT AND OUR LOCAL
  CONSULTATIONS

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OUR JOURNEY

• ORGANIZATIONAL/CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
• CONCEPTUALIZE INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST FRAMEWORKS
  (IFFS) FOR POLICY CHANGE
• DEVELOP METHODS FOR INCLUDING MARGINALIZED
  WOMENS VOICES IN CHANGING POLICIES
• CONCEPTUALIZE WOMENS ECONOMIC SECURITY AND
  SOCIAL JUSTICE FROM THE LIVES OF WOMEN MOST
  AFFECTED

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MAIN FORCES FOR CHANGE

• BOARD OF CRIAW DECIDED INTERNAL ORGANIZATIONAL
  CHANGES WERE NEEDED TO ENABLE VOICES OF
  MARGINALIZED WOMEN TO BE HEARD AND FOR TARGETTED
  AND FOCUSED WORK TO OCCUR
• THE STATE PUSHED FOR GREATER RELEVANCE FOR POLICY
  CHANGE
• PUSH FROM STAFF AND SOME BOARD MEMBERS FOR CRIAW
  TO STAY RELEVANT (NOT ALL AGREED).

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WHERE WE ARE NOW

• OVER THREE DECADES, CRIAW HAS SHIFTED FROM MAINLY
  PUBLISHING, TO UNDERTAKING PLURAL RESEARCH
  PROJECTS, AND NOW TO A MORE FOCUSED AND ACTIVIST
  RESEARCH AGENDA.
• DIFFICULT CHOICES HAD TO BE MADE ISSUES FOR
  FOCUS, VOICES TO BE PRIORITIZED, AND TARGET
  AUDIENCES.

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POINTS FOR REFLECTION

• STATE MEDIATION, POLITICAL STRUGGLE, OR A
  CONVERGENCE OF THE TWO?
• ARE WOMEN AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS TRULY
  READY TO INTEGRATE THE VOICES OF THOSE MOST
  AFFECTED INTO THEIR WORK? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR
  ADVOCACY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE GROUPS?

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WHY IFFS?

• NEED TO MOVE BEYOND GENDER BASED ANALYSIS (GBA)
  AND GENDER MAINSTREAMING
• NEED TO BETTER RESPOND TO COMPLEXITIES OF
  MARGINALIZED WOMENS LIVES
• PATRIARCHY AND SEX DISCRIMINATION ONLY ONE ENTRY
  POINT
• LONGSTANDING ANALYSIS OF INTERSECTIONALITY OF
  RACE, CLASS AND GENDER IN LITERATURE, BUT LITTLE
  WORK DONE AT THE POLICY LEVEL

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CRIAWS STARTING POINTS

• IN DEVELOPING OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, AROUND WOMENS
  ECONOMIC SECURITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE, CRIAW
  DECIDED THAT ALL OUR WORK WOULD TAKE PLACE WITHIN
  AN INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST FRAMEWORK. BUT WHAT
  DID THIS MEAN FOR POLICY ANALYSIS AND CHANGE?
  THEORY HAD NOT BEEN TRANSLATED INTO USABLE
  PRACTICE.
• MANY ALTERNATIVE FRAMEWORKS EXISTED.
• CRIAW SET OUT TO ASK WOMEN HOW THEY UNDERSTAND
  AND USE INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST ANALYSIS IN THEIR
  WORK.

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MORE STARTING POINTS

• WOMEN HAVE SUBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR OWN
  LIVES AND THE CONTEXT IN WHICH THEY LIVE THEIR
  LIVES
• WOMEN LIVE THEIR LIVES HOLISTICALLY AND IN
  RELATION TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL
  NETWORKS. WOMEN DO NOT SEE THEMSELVES AS POLICY
  OBJECTS.
• WOMEN WANT TO BE CONSULTED, THEY WANT TO BE
  INVOLVED IN POLICY MAKING
• DIFFERENT WOMEN COULD BRING DIFFERENT KNOWLEDGE
  TO THE TABLE.

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OUR APPROACH

• IN FEBRUARY 2004 WE HELD A ROUNDTABLE WITH
  CANADIAN FEMINIST ACTIVISTS AND WOMEN FROM THE
  SOUTH ON INTEGRATED FEMINIST ANALYSIS (IFA),
• IN MARCH, 2005, WE TOOK A DRAFT TO BEIJING 10
  AND HELD A WORKSHOP ON MOVING BEYOND GBA IN
  COLLABORATION WITH THE WOMENS INTERNATIONAL
  COALITION FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE WITH
  80 WOMEN ACTIVISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD,
• IN JUNE, 2005, WE HELD A THINKTANK WITH 20
  ACADEMIC AND COMMUNITY BASED PARTICIPANTS.
• WE ESTABLISHED A CRIAW WORKING GROUP ON IFFS.

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FROM INTEGRATED FEMINST ANALYSIS TO
INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST FRAMEWORKS
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THE CONCEPT OF MULTIPLE IFFS

• BEGINS FROM A MORAL AND ETHICAL POSITION
• ISSUES OF LANGUAGE ARE IMPORTANT
• APPROACHES TO KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION
• ISSUES OF CO-IMPLICATION
• POLITICS OF IDENTITY BALANCED AGAINST MATERIAL,
  STRUCTURAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXTS.

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HOW IFFS LINK TO WOMENS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
JUSTICE

• USE IFFS TO GUIDE WORK ON OVERCOMING POVERTY
  AND EXCLUSION. THIS WORK WILL FURTHER INFORM THE
  DEVELOPMENT OF IFFS
• DIFFERENT GROUPS OF WOMEN WILL HAVE DIFFERENT
  HISTORIES AND ENGAGEMENTS WITH THE STATE, ECONOMY
  AND CIVIL SOCIETY, IFFS MAKE THESE DIFFERENCES
  EXPLICIT
• NOT ALL WOMENS ISSUES OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
  JUSTICE CAN BE RESOLVED BY UNIVERSAL CHANGES IN
  LABOR MARKET OR SOCIAL WELFARE POLICIES.
  TRADITIONAL APPROACHES SUCH AS PAY EQUITY,
  INCREASED LABOR MARKET PARTICIPATION OR
  ATTACHMENT WILL NOT NECESSARILY RESOLVE ISSUES OF
  SOCIAL EXCLUSION AND POVERTY.
• THE LOCAL AND GLOBAL ARE LINKED AND IFFS SHOULD
  HELP TO MAKE THESE RELATIONS TRANSPARENT

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SOME CONCRETE ACTIONS WE WILL TAKE TO LINK POLICY
ANALYSIS, ACTION AND RESEARCH

• FIND AND DEVELOP STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
• BUILD SOLIDARITY IN POLITICAL VISION AND ACTION
• ENSURE THAT VOICES OF WOMEN MOST AFFECTED ARE
  PRESENT IN DECISION-MAKING
• USE COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH APPROACHES SUCH AS
  PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH

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SOME CONCRETE ACTIONS WE WILL TAKE TO LINK POLICY
ANALYSIS, ACTION AND RESEARCH

• USE AND DEVELOP IFFS AS A FRAMEWORK FOR POLICY
  ANALYSIS AND CHANGE
• LINK POVERTY, SOCIAL EXCLUSION, MARGINALIZATION
  AND SUBORDINATION IN RESEARCH, ANALYSIS AND
  POLICY CHANGE

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SOME CONCRETE ACTIONS WE WILL TAKE TO LINK IFFS
TO WESJOPE POLICY ANALYSIS, ACTION AND RESEARCH

• LOOK FOR WOMEN-CENTERED ECONOMIC MODELS,
• ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY LEVEL ORGANIZING, MOBILIZING
  AND EMPOWERMENT BY LEVERAGING INFLUENCE AND
  FUNDS,
• LEARN AND LISTEN TO KNOWLEDGE BEING DEVELOPED BY
  WOMEN FROM THE SOUTH,
• SHARE KNOWLEDGE WIDELY THROUGH POPULAR EDUCATION,
• CONTINUE TO LEARN

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THE WORK AHEAD

• MUCH WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE
• THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS WILL
  CONTINUE TO ARISE
• CHALLENGE OF INSUFFICIENT RESOURCES AND HOW TO
  EVALUATE EFFECTIVENESS
• WE MUST SHIFT OUR LENSES, INCLUDING HOW WE
  CONCEIVE OF AND DOCUMENT THE PROCESS OF OUR
  SUBSTANTIVE WORK.