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 DECISION- MAKING 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.