Intersectionality: are we taking enough notice in the field of work and employment relations?

Abstract

Intersectional analysis has been developing since its emergence from critical race feminism in the 1980s when it was used to conceptualise the inter-relationship of race and gender, and particularly, the experiences of discrimination and marginalisation of black women in employment. While its contribution has been much debated within sociological and gender specific journals, its use still remains relatively limited within studies of work and employment-relations. It is argued here that this field of study would benefit from greater engagement with and understanding of an intersectional approach both to the design and interpretation of research. Two lines of reasoning are put forward for this contention: firstly, that the intersectional approach contains an important caution against over-generalisation that has been obscured; secondly, separating the challenge for all academics to be more intersectionally-sensitive, from the methodological challenges of taking an intersectional approach, brings the significance of intersectionality into sharper relief.2

Unpacking the Category of Migrant Workers in Trade Union Research: A Multi-Level Approach to Migrant Intersectionalities

“…We not only urge for an 'intersectional sensitivity' at the micro-level as others have done more broadly for the field of employment relations (e.g., McBride et al, 2014), but endorse a multilevel approach, showing how at each level the researcher would benefit from taking into account the intersectional processes of labour inequalities. We suggest that a multi-level, process-based approach to migrant intersectionalities allows scholars to analyze trade union strategies towards migrant workers involving the macro, meso and micro level.…”

“…McCall, 2005;Yuval-Davies, 2006), industrial relations scholars have only recently explicitly engaged with it (e.g. McBride et al, 2014;Mooney, 2016). In a response to…”

Identity, Intersectionality and Welfare

“…Intersectionality can be applied to a number of fields in contemporary society relating to an individual's welfare as well as collective growth, including in areas such as policy-making and politics [9][10][11][12], education [13,14], employment [15][16][17], healthcare [18][19][20], to property and wealth [21][22][23][24][25].…”

An Intersectional Approach to Research on Unemployment

“…Cílem tohoto článku je kriticky zhodnotit možnost aplikace meziskupinové-ho intersekcionálního přístupu při zkoumání sociálních nerovností na příkladu empirického šetření EU-SILC [McBride, Hebson, Holgate 2015;Mooney 2016]. Výsledky analýzy ukazují, že intersekcionální perspektiva může pomoci odhalit, že určitý zdroj nerovností má v kombinaci s dalšími zdroji nerovností jinou, nebo dokonce zcela opačnou souvislost se zkoumaným jevem, a tak utváří pro odliš-né subpopulace různé sociální pozice.…”