Intersectional Policy Analysis
Intersectionality is a critical theoretical framework and praxis which draws attention to social categories such as race, ethnicity, gender, social class, dis/ability, sexuality and more, and their implications in terms of power. It has been developed by women of colour activists and scholars, such as Crenshaw (1989), Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I a Woman? speech in 1851, or the Combahee River Collective in 1977. Only more recently has its application reached across the social sciences more widely and into policy making. Within debates on, and operationalisations of, intersectionality, the category of age/ childhood is still oftentimes overlooked.
Consider the following areas of international policy and legislation:
ü The United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child
ü The UN Sustainable Development Goals
ü The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding and UNICEF’s Baby Friendly Initiative in the UK
ü The UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) Age, Gender and Diversity Approach
As you read through these policy areas, try to answer the following questions:
- To what extent do these policies recognise intersectionality, explicitly or implicitly?
- How do they view children and families in terms of their intersectional positions?
- Which categories are foregrounded or silenced – for example age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, socio-economic background, sexuality, religion or legal status?
- To what extent are racial inequalities and systemic racism addressed by any of the policies?
Here are some further resources on intersectionality in policymaking. As you read them, keep in mind if and how they recognise the origins of intersectionality in the activism and intellectual labour of women of colour:
Ferree, M.M. (2009), ‘Inequality, intersectionality and the politics of discourse: Framing feminist alliances’, in E. Lombardo, P. Meier, and M. Verloo (eds), The discursive politics of gender equality: Stretching, bending and policy-making, 86–104, London: Routledge.
Hankivsky, O. (ed) (2012) An Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis Framework. Vancouver, BC. Institute for Intersectionality Research and Policy, Simon Fraser University. Available online [Accessed 15/12/22]
Massey, S. (2022) Designing Social Policies through an Intersectional Lens. LSE Blog, London. Available online [Accessed 15/12/22]
Scottish Government (2022) Using intersectionality in policymaking and analysis. Available online. [Accessed 15/12/22]
Critical Frameworks for Challenging Inequalities of Power in Childhood
There are different theoretical and practical approaches to challenging taken-for-granted relations of power which affect the lives of children globally.
Intersectionality is one of these, highlighting aspects of power, complexity and race (including whiteness).
Browse the following projects or centres which adopt critical approaches to childhood studies and practice:
ü The Childism Institute
ü The Reconstructing Children’s Rights Institute
ü Decolonising Childhood Discourses
ü Reconceptualising Early Childhood Education
Consider the following questions:
- How do these approaches, frameworks or projects conceptualise power and change?
- How do they suggest to contest unequal, invisible or taken-for-granted power relations affecting children?
- How do they align with, or not, the principles and operationalisations of intersectionality?
- What categories of difference do they foreground, silence, or challenge?
- Which of these approaches, including intersectionality, do you find most useful for your own work and why?
CERES Podcast
You are invited to listen to this podcast by the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland (CERES) of Pavithra (Pavi) Atul Sarma in conversation with Dr Kristina Konstantoni about Pavi’s work as an anti-racism activist and consultant.
- After Reading Chapter 5 ‘Intersectional Perspectives on Childhood’, how do you see intersectionality operate in this podcast?
- Question from Pavi about accountability: From the information you have received, how are you accountable for disrupting intersecting oppressions?
Performative Allyship v Allyship
You are invited to listen to this voice-clip developed by Fiona Crisp.
Fiona Crisp
Thinking about what Fiona has shared with us: How can you/we practically move from performative allyship towards allyship?
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