Developments in the appropriation of intersectionality by white feminism in European policy

Abstract

The Black feminist theory of intersectionality has fuelled critiques of siloed1 equality policy developed from the experiences of, and to serve the interests of, those who are disadvantaged in relation to one marker of inequality but privileged in relation to others. European gender equality policy is an important case in point, developed this way because intersectionally marginalised women (for example, Black women and women of colour) have been largely excluded from policy spaces, so the resulting hegemonic approach to inequalities has been to privilege a singular approach to gender. While dominant actors in the European gender equality arena not long ago explicitly voiced resistance and opposition to work on inequalities other than gender (Jacquot, 2015) and to intersectionality, this position is becoming less tenable: ‘without an intersectional approach ... the women’s movement will lack credibility’ (European Commission Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, 2020). The term ‘intersectionality’ is increasingly mobilised in European gender equality policy debates. However, here, the challenge of intersectionality is, antithetically, reduced to seeking to make gender equality policy ‘more intersectional’. Moreover, the particular and ongoing whitened, additive and depoliticised way in which intersectionality is being appropriated across different realms of European policy requires careful attention. The dominant constructed narrative concerning intersectionality in relation to European gender equality policy is that it is a ‘new’ theory that presents challenges to older ways of theorising and legislating on social inequalities – yet, ideas of intersectionality have a long tradition in Europe (Emejulu and Sobande, 2019). Equality policy developed in siloed ways not because intersectionality was a theory unknown to political actors of the time, but because siloed structures reflect the experiences and interests of dominant groups. In the UK, for example, where legislation concerning racial inequalities preceded legislation on gender, some white women parliamentarians wanted ‘sex’ and race to be separate, and made arguments promoting the idea that they are mutually exclusive, resting on racist beliefs in 2022