Intersectionality is a vital framework for understanding how diverse identities and experiences shape individuals’ and communities’ interactions with development processes.

Rooted in the idea that various aspects of identity—such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and disability—do not exist in isolation but intersect in complex ways, intersectionality challenges us to move beyond one-dimensional approaches to development. Instead, it calls for a nuanced understanding of how multiple forms of oppression and privilege interact, influencing both the challenges people face and the solutions they require.

Origins

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw first articulated intersectionality in 1989 to address the limitations of a single lens through which we look at our identities. She examined how race and gender intersect to uniquely affect Black women’s experiences in the US. Since then, it’s been widely adopted across various disciplines as a critical tool for analysing the complex, overlapping systems of power that shape people’s lives.

In our sector, intersectionality is crucial because it acknowledges that people’s experiences of poverty, inequality, and marginalisation are not uniform. We are not a monolith.

For instance, a woman’s experience of disadvantage is compounded by her race, age, location, or her documents. By recognising and naming these intersecting identities, we can better understand our own and, therefore, others. This exercise in empathy and deeper contextual understanding can help us design more inclusive and effective interventions that respond to the actual needs of diverse populations.

Theory

In theory, applying intersectionality to development involves a shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to one that is more context-specific and responsive to the complexities of identity. This means moving away from categorising people based on a single characteristic—such as along the gender or other binaries —and instead considering how various aspects of identity intersect to influence a person’s experiences and needs.

For example, programmes that look at girls’ education start with the gender binary and focus only on cisgender girls. However, an intersectional approach would consider additional factors such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, location, and disability, which might affect a girl’s access to education. A girl from an indigenous community, for instance, might face different barriers to education than a girl from an urban, middle-class background. By incorporating these additional dimensions, intersectionality brings nuance to programmes. This means they can be tailored to address the specific challenges faced by different groups of girls and others in their communities, leading to more equitable outcomes.

Moreover, intersectionality provides us with a lens to critically examine how policies and practices inadvertently reinforce existing inequalities. It encourages a systemic level overview of power dynamics, social factors, and external factors that influence how a microloan programme is designed and rolled out. Using it, we can consider how existing power dynamics within households or communities could limit women’s control over their loans, access to the scheme, and other barriers to success. An intersectional analysis would help identify these potential pitfalls and suggest ways to design projects that meaningfully empower women, keeping an eye on the patriarchal structures that affect them.

In Practice

Using the approach properly means clarity in intention and a commitment to inclusivity at every stage of the process, from design to planning and implementation to monitoring and evaluation. Some ideas:

Inclusive Participation: Start by ensuring that the voices of those most affected by and central to the project are actively included in the decision-making process. This means creating spaces where people from diverse backgrounds can share their experiences and contribute to the design. For example, bringing in people from different ethnic groups, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds to plan a community health project can help ensure it meets the needs of a wider community rather than just a subset, as usual.

Disaggregated Data: Collect and analyse data disaggregated by various demographic factors, including gender, age, race, ethnicity, disability, and others. It not only provides a solid foundation to practice intersectionality and broaden your understanding, but disaggregation can reveal patterns of inequality that would be missed otherwise. A programme can better understand the specific barriers different groups face and identify solutions that would help to meet them best.

Adaptive Programming: Flexibility in implementation starts with design. This means being open to adjustments based on new information emerging about a programme and its effects. This may involve having better systems to incorporate feedback or having a project structure that’s flexible enough to be amended while still meeting its goals.

Advocacy: Seeing each project as a chance to discuss the larger issues it’s connected to can help connect outcomes to the larger impact and meet the needs of a wider group of people. A programme should also address the broader structural inequalities that contribute to intersecting forms of oppression. This might involve advocating for policy changes specific to education or community health, as in the examples above, or at least to better map how current policies affect different groups in specific ways

The Challenges and Rewards of Intersectionality

Intersectionality requires understanding the complexities of identity and oppression and a willingness to engage with difficult questions about power, privilege, and inequality. It also demands that programmes move beyond short-term solutions and embrace the messiness and nuance of real-world experiences.

By recognising and addressing the diverse and intersecting needs of marginalised communities, programmes can become more effective, equitable, and sustainable. Ultimately, intersectionality pushes us to rethink our work not as a one-size-fits-all but as a process that must be tailored to the unique and varied experiences of those it seeks to serve.