Gender, Institutions, and Intersections and Beyond

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

The 2017 edited volume _Gender, Institutions, and Intersections_ examined a range of intersectional groups in Germany to investigate when and under what circumstances multiply-marginalized groups can make their voices heard in the public policy making process (Davidson-Schmich 2017). The volume was described by one reviewer as “open[ing] the door to many future comparative research investigations.” This Roundtable represents a first step on this research journey.

The volume held the institutional setting constant – the Federal Republic of Germany – along with one axis of intersection – gender -- while varying the other intersectional categories, which included class, region, sexuality, (dis)ability, and other social markers. Via rich qualitative research and process tracing, the authors identified three venues through which multiply marginalized groups could gain allies and a voice in the policy making process: from the “top down” by working with international organizations, “from below” by allying with other domestic interest groups, or via “convergence with policy maker interests” – framing concerns in a way that appealed to the self-interest of policy makers. The research design and methods ensured that the volume possessed a high degree of internal validity. The external validity of the authors’ claims remains untested, however.

This roundtable builds on _Gender, Institutions, and Intersections_ by considering additional ways in which the authors’ claims can now be (dis)confirmed. Roundtable participants will elaborate on how the volume’s research can be extended geographically, methodologically, and empirically. The edited collection focused solely on intersectional groups in the German institutional context; the Roundtable will consider ways in which the authors’ hypotheses could be tested in settings outside the Federal Republic. The authors employed qualitative case study research and the Roundtable will develop ways in which the volume’s hypotheses can be tested cross-nationally and quantitatively. Finally, the book privileged gender as an axis of intersection and overlooked several other possible intersectional groups in the Federal Republic. The Roundtable will therefore also discuss how the volume’s claims can be tested via examination of other German intersectional groups.

The Roundtable therefore seeks to create roadmap of how intersectional scholars can build on this foundational collection.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 46: Qualitative and Multi-Method Research

Chair

• Liza Mugge University of Amsterdam

Presenters

• Christina Xydias Bucknell University

• Louise K. Davidson-Schmich University of Miami

• Angelika von Wahl Lafayette College

• Erica Townsend-Bell Oklahoma State University

• Fiona C. Barker Victoria University of Wellington

• Merike Blofield University of Miami

• Wendy G. Smooth The Ohio State University