Intersecting Inequalities and Prospects for Community Development

Abstract

This Special Issue of the Community Development Journal explores how the concepts of intersectionality and intersecting inequalities can contribute to inclusive community development research and practice, particularly in contexts of acute marginalization. The motivation for our focus follows insight from the Participate research initiative, which showed that marginalization is perpetuated when development interventions do not address the consequences of intersecting inequalities (Howard et al. 2017). The Sustainable Development Goals’ call to ‘leave no one behind’ is unlikely to be realized unless researchers, practitioners, community-based organizations and social movements develop conceptual and methodological approaches for surfacing the diverse perspectives and needs of the most stigmatized, vulnerable and excluded groups, and then incorporate this complex knowledge into appropriate action. This issue includes articles based in our recent collaborations with Participate partners in five countries, which explore how an intersectional lens was applied both to understand how inequalities are differentially experienced and perpetuated and to evolve inclusive methodologies for supporting grassroots groups, in extremely inequitable contexts, to take collective action and seek accountability. This compilation was enriched by an open call, which brought in additional perspectives on applying intersectionality to community development in the Global North and South.