Coordinators: Giulia Arena (Instituto de Filosofía, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Observatorio sobre interseccionalidad.), MariaCaterina La Barbera (Instituto de Filosofía, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Observatorio sobre interseccionalidad.)
Description of the meeting
This workshop explores the institutionalization of intersectionality as an anti-discrimination framework within the legal and public policy of Southern Europe, specifically Spain, Italy, and Portugal. We want to address the urgent need to transition intersectionality from a theoretical framework to a concrete institutional practice. By integrating interdisciplinary perspectives, the workshop will investigate how intersectionality operates as a legal, symbolic and social tool, exploring the gap between law on the books and law in action, as well as between legislative frameworks, policy design and their heterogeneous implementation, while providing empirical evidence on how intersectionality can reformulate the concept of substantive equality and inclusive justice.
We sought for intergenerational balance in the sessions to ensure that established expertise is enriched by novel perspectives of early-career researchers, while a roundtable is planned to foster an informal space for debate and co-creation of interdisciplinary knowledge.
The workshop is designed to analyze different, interconnected dimensions of intersectionality’s institutionalization:
- Normative Dimension: how multi-level governance (EU, national and local) shapes anti-discrimination frameworks and how leaves space for innovative legal and policy innovations, through an in-depth analysis of Spain, Italy and Portugal legal and political frameworks.
- Judicial implementation: how intersectionality enters (or not) the judicial reasoning, in different courts, such as international courts like CEDU or national ones.
- Policy Implementation: a specific session explores how intersectionality can be implemented in local administrations, how it challenges traditional evaluation frameworks and with which methodological implications.
- Specific axes of discrimination: case studies on the implementation of intersectionality are analysed with an empirical qualitative perspective, exploring intersectional approaches to different legal and political issues, such as migration, prison systems, disability, ageing and prostitution, highlighting how overlapping forms of inequality shape people’s access to rights, services and justice.
The workshop directly contributes to the sociology of law by adopting a "law in action" perspective, shifting the focus from intersectionality as a purely judicial or theoretical tool toward its life as a legislative and political praxis. It moves beyond the analysis of statutory law to investigate whether and how different legal actors at different institutions negotiate the relationship among multiple inequalities and translate intersectional complexity into administrative and judicial practices. We aim to generate institutional impact by providing tools that strengthen institutions’ capacity to address intersectional vulnerability and discrimination. This will improve protection for marginalized groups, foster more inclusive institutions and provide empirical grounding for contemporary legal and political theory.
