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Intersectionality as a Model and methodology for
Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policies A
Case Study of the UK

• Presentation at 10th International Womens Worlds
  Congress
• New Frontiers Dares and Advancements
• Madrid, 3 9 July 2008
• Barbara Bagilhole
• Loughborough University
• LE11 3TU
• UK
• B.M.Bagilhole_at_lboro.ac.uk

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Introduction

• Gender, Race, Disability, Sexual Orientation,
  Religion and Belief, Age.
• Complex Separate and Relative Disadvantage,
  Conflicting Experiences Interests? Between
  within categories of disadvantage.
• Northern Ireland model intersectionality ? new
  Commission for Equality and Human Rights

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New CEHR

• need for approach based on intersectionality
• avoid some inequalities being left out
• rivalry or competition between different
  interests
• Otherwise stronger interests may rise above
  others
• Main concern - gender equality may lose out in
  millieux of diversity.

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Formula for EO in the UK

• Ill equipped to fully embrace the social dynamics
  of race, gender, disability, class, age, sexual
  orientation or religion and belief.
• Legislation piecemeal, confusing, reactive, no
  collective solutions or class actions, complex,
  costly, time consuming.
• Incremental approach bewildering for employers
  public, dysfunctional for EOD project.
• Legislation for different target groups not
  compatible.

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Extent and Nature of Heterogeneity of
Disadvantage

• 55m ? 58m (30 years)
• 1.6m more over 65 years
• 5.2m parent couples, 1.6m lone mothers, 180,000
  lone fathers
• 10m disabled people
• 4.6m ethnic minorities
• 3.1m non-Christian religion
• 2.3-3.2m gay, lesbian or bisexual

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Fundamental Continuous Disadvantage

• Gender Pay Gap Hourly 17 (38.4 PT)
• Caveat Ethnic origin
• Education girls achieve but discipline
  segregation
• Sex Power
• Caring Responsibilities

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Heterogeneity and Relational Aspect of
Disadvantage

• Age - mediating factor in gender and employment
• Disability Employment lower than non-disabled
  but also gendered
• Ethnic Groups Employment EM women full time
  EM men part time Unemployment - Heterogeneity
  of different EM groups
• Religious Belief Muslims lowest employment
  all religious groups employment activity gendered

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Theoretical Challenge of Diverse (In)Equality

• Post-structuralist/modernist critiques
  homogeneity of groups or even groups as such
• Deconstruction of groups ? Disadvantage dynamic
  interactive
• Double, Triple Oppression not useful
• Multiple layers of identity intersection of
  factors
• Snow White fairytale
• Need to bring back political realities

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New CEHR promised Single Equality Act

• Gender sexual orientation (EOC), race
  religion and belief (CRE), disability age
  (DRC) Human Rights Act.
• Diversity difference socially constructed and
  variable, issues can become more or less
  significant according to geo-political and
  cultural space, can be either privileged at times
  or marginalised at others.
• Fagan et al. (2006) - visibility of gender
  issues has faded in EU ? issues of migration,
  immigration, race, and religious belief beginning
  to dominate agenda
• Concern that gender equality may lose out in the
  millieux of diversity.

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Northern Ireland (NI) Single Commission A
Model to follow?

• History of Radical Intervention Religious
  Belief
• Proactive Fair Employment Agency investigations
  of organisations (NI Civil Service) Compulsory
  Monitoring - Affirmative Action (short of
  quotas) Employment Targets Timetables

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Mainstreaming Equality

• Statutory Policy Appraisal Religion political
  opinion, gender, race ethnicity, disability,
  age, sexual orientation, marital status those
  with dependants
• All new policies service changes assessed
  impact on 9 equality groups adverse impact
  ameliorated where possible or justified
• Monitoring
• Consultation

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Complexity of Diversity Mainstreaming

• Definition Scale of Adverse Impact?
• Statistical Evidence v Qualitative data (Sexual
  Orientation)
• Reconciliation of Conflicting Adverse Impacts

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INTERSECTIONALITY TO THE POLICY MAKERS RESCUE?

• Combination of NI model underpinned by concept of
  intersectionality could offer a way forward for
  CEHR
• Increasingly common to talk about diversity and
  multiple discriminations in EU - Gender
  mainstreaming seen as way forward for Equality
  and Diversity Mainstreaming.
• Concept of intersectionality stresses importance
  of intersecting nature of various prohibited
  grounds of discrimination.
• EU policies on diversity and feminist theories of
  intersectionality point in the same direction.

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REALPOLITIK

• Concept of intersectionality illuminates the
  multiple, intersecting, interlacing nature of
  complex social relations both between and within
  socially disadvantaged groups in society.
• Useful for development of EOD policy but its
  complexity must in some way be contained to allow
  its utility for the reality and practicality of
  EOD policy making.

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TAMING COMPLEXITY THROUGH TWO METHODOLOGICAL
APPROACHES

• Intercategorical - across the categories,
  quantitative evidence
• Intracategorical - inside the category,
  qualitative evidence (McCall, 2005)
• Recognition of multiple and intersecting
  disadvantage and the strategic reconstruction of
  the recognition of group social disadvantage that
  policies can be based on.

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Intercategorical approach (McCall, 2005)

• Strategically using existing social groups, as
  imperfect and ever changing as they are
• For example, effect of race on income, measure
  how differs for men and women, for women of
  higher and lower class, and men of higher and
  lower class?
• Comparative approach that lends itself to
  quantitative methodology.

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Intracategorical approach(Brah 1992)

• Intensive, qualitative in-depth case study of
  Asian women revealed complex nature of the daily
  lived experiences of a previously invisible
  group.
• In this way intersectionality accepts traditional
  categories albeit critically, and uses them to
  identify and study finer points of intersections.

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Conclusion

• NI model - a way forward - exemplary e.g. of EOD
  mainstreaming with potential for duplication in
  other countries
• Most useful if the issue of the complexity of
  diversity, and even the problem of conflicts of
  interest across and within disadvantaged groups
  approached from an intersectional perspective.
• Intersectional approaches identified as
  intercategorical and intracategorical -
  fruitful way forward for the development of EOD
  policy based on research evidence
• Intersectionality alerts us to the need to fine
  tune policy in a more sophisticated manner than
  in the past.

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• Example - issue of violence against women.
• An intercategorical analysis by race,
  ethnicity, class, disability, sexual orientation,
  religion and belief, and age could be used to
  identify any categories that potentially need
  further and specialist interrogation.
• Intracategorical analysis of those particular
  groups identified could then be undertaken to see
  how the issue actually works in practice and is
  made visible through their day to day
  experiences.
• Produce specialised positive action measures to
  tackle the problem.

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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere (Martin Luther King).

• Reminds us that all oppressions are interrelated
  mutually constitutive
• Debates in UK around
• multiculturalism versus womens rights - Genital
  Mutilation Act, forced marriages honour
  killings.
• rights of women to abortion, legalised assisted
  death disabled peoples movement
• certain religious beliefs civil partnerships
  gay adoption