1. Introduction: Bringing Intersectionality to Public Policy

The introduction situates intersectionality within the broader field of critical policy studies, traces the development of the relationship between intersectionality and public policy, and highlights key challenges, critiques, and possibilities of intersectionality-informed approaches in public policy analysis and studies. The authors lay out the distinct features of the collection and specifically its focus on demonstrating the value and “how-to” of intersectionality-informed policy approaches that aim to advance equity and social justice. Central questions of an intersectionality-informed approach to policy analysis underpinning the contributions include: What is assumed and what is left out within convention framings of policy problems and affected populations? How does intersectionality improve on existing approaches and whose experiences are at the centre of analysis? How does intersectionality-informed analysis incorporate the voices of marginalized groups? And how does the analysis speak to liberation and social justice that is grounded in the needs of the community being targeted by the policy? In the final section, the authors outline the various overlapping sections of the handbook. They describe the breadth of contributions to each theme, across continents, in a variety of context and geographic locations, and including scholars at all career stages, from a range of sectors and disciplines.