WORKING TO INTEGRATE
MARGINALIZED WOMEN’S
VOICES INTO SOCIAL
POLICIES AND DEBATES
JO-ANNE LEE & LISE MARTIN
CANADIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR
THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN
October, 2005
CRIAW’S APPROACH
LINKAGES BETWEEN COMMUNITY
AND UNIVERSITY BASED
RESEARCH EVOLVING SINCE 1976
IN 2004, CRIAW MADE A
STRATEGIC DECISION TO FOCUS
ITS WORK ON WOMEN’S
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE:
OVERCOMING POVERTY AND
EXCLUSION (WESJOPE)
CONTEXT OF WORK
CRIAW IS INVOLVED IN INTEGRATING
MARGINALIZED WOMEN’S VOICES. WE
HAVE TO BE READY TO TRULY HEAR
THEIR VOICES
CRIAW IS COMMITTED TO
FACILITATING WOMEN’S VOICES IN THE
POLICY PROCESS, EG. THE CST
RESEARCH PROJECT AND OUR LOCAL
CONSULTATIONS
OUR JOURNEY
ORGANIZATIONAL/CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
CONCEPTUALIZE INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST
FRAMEWORKS (IFFS) FOR POLICY CHANGE
DEVELOP METHODS FOR INCLUDING
MARGINALIZED WOMEN’S VOICES IN
CHANGING POLICIES
CONCEPTUALIZE WOMEN’S ECONOMIC
SECURITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE FROM THE
LIVES OF WOMEN MOST AFFECTED
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 FOCUSSED
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).
WHERE WE ARE NOW
OVER THREE DECADES, CRIAW HAS
SHIFTED FROM MAINLY PUBLISHING,
TO UNDERTAKING PLURAL RESEARCH
PROJECTS, AND NOW TO A MORE
FOCUSSED AND ACTIVIST RESEARCH
AGENDA.
DIFFICULT CHOICES HAD TO BE MADE:
ISSUES FOR FOCUS, VOICES TO BE
PRIORITIZED, AND TARGET
AUDIENCES.
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?
WHY IFFS?
NEED TO MOVE BEYOND GBA AND
GENDER MAINSTREAMING
NEED TO BETTER RESPOND TO
COMPLEXITIES OF MARGINALIZED
WOMEN’S 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
CRIAW’S STARTING POINTS
IN DEVELOPING OUR STRATEGIC PLAN,
AROUND WOMEN’S 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.
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.
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 WOMEN’S 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.
FROM INTEGRATED
FEMINST ANALYSIS TO
INTERSECTIONAL
FEMINIST FRAMEWORKS
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.
HOW IFFS LINK TO WOMEN’S
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 WOMEN’S 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
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 DECISIONMAKING
USE COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH
APPROACHES SUCH AS PARTICIPATORY
ACTION RESEARCH
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,
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
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.