Workshop

Intersectional analysis and quantitative methods

Theoretical and empirical advancements, challenges and possibilities in the research of intersectional inequalities

Call for papers

Over the last two decades, several scholars have refined operationalisations of intersectionality by exploring its various meanings and how they reflect different theoretical concerns. For example, McCall’s (2005) influential piece calls for a more nuanced approach regarding the use of analytical categories, synthesised in three empirical approaches: Anti-categorical (oriented to the study of the experiences lived by neglected intersecting social groups), intracategorical (the study inequalities within different social groups) and intercategorical (to use existing analytical categories to study inequalities between different social groups). Various disciplines are measuring the effects of intersecting inequalities on, for example, health (Bauer et al 2021), education (Keller et al 2023), and economic (Dubrow 2013) outcomes. Some are focused on the technical side of statistical methods for the analysis of intersecting inequalities (Evans et al 2020). Others have developed scales that measure intersectional identities and perceptions of discrimination (Stirratt et al 2008) or via the critical race theory lenses are challenging the neutrality of numbers and their interpretations, as well as the acceptance of categorisations as natural (Garcia et al. 2018).

These exciting methodological advancements provide the backdrop to bring together expert knowledge from multiple disciplines into dialogue to systematically continue the methodological debates on studying intersecting inequalities quantitatively. The main premise of the workshop is that despite clear conceptual and methodological differences, researchers from the social, health and behavioural sciences, among many others, share a growing interest in incorporating intersectional approaches into quantitative research. This multidisciplinary workshop will provide a unique opportunity to learn together and discuss some of the current advancements, major methodological challenges and new opportunities provided by quantitative intersectional analysis. This includes but is not limited to, papers addressing the following issues:

• Empirical studies using classical and/or radical statistical methods;
• Methodological reflections and intersectional theory;
• The measurement of identity categories with survey questionnaires and other instruments;
• Operationalising power structures and intersecting categories using quantitative methods;
• Data gathering, sampling and multiple intersecting groups;
• Generalising findings from specific contexts to broader populations;
• The use of secondary data sources 9official statistics, online sources);
• Intersectionality and mixed methods;
• Text mining, data science, computational social sciences and intersectional analysis.

To facilitate discussion and meaningful exchanges, workshop attendees will be asked to submit an extended abstract or full paper ahead of time.

Although the workshop is planned as an in-person event, remote delivery of papers will be considered. Please indicate with your submission if you prefer to take part remotely.

Possibilities for a publication based on the workshop will be explored and discussed during the event.

Keynotes

To be announced

Important dates

Deadline for abstracts (200 – 300 words): January 30^th, 2025.

Information about acceptance: February 7^th, 2025.

Extended abstract (500 – 1000 words) or draft paper (4000 – 6000 words): April 1^st, 2025.

Please submit your abstracts to Adrian Leguina A.Leguina@lboro.ac.uk

References

Bauer, G. R., Churchill, S. M., Mahendran, M., Walwyn, C., Lizotte, D., & Villa-Rueda, A. A. (2021). Intersectionality in quantitative research: A systematic review of its emergence and applications of theory and methods. SSM – Population Health, 14, 100798.

Dubrow, J. (2013). Why Should We Account for Intersectionality in Quantitative Analysis of Survey Data? In V. Kallenberg, J. Meyer, & J. M. Müller (Eds.), Intersectionality und Kritik: Neue Perspektiven für alte Fragen (pp. 161–177). Springer Fachmedien.

Evans, C. R., Leckie, G., & Merlo, J. (2020). Multilevel versus single-level regression for the analysis of multilevel information: The case of quantitative intersectional analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 245, 112499.

Garcia, N. M., López, N., & Vélez, V. N. (2018). QuantCrit: Rectifying quantitative methods through critical race theory. Race Ethnicity and Education, 21(2), 149–157.

Keller, L., Lüdtke, O., Preckel, F., & Brunner, M. (2023). Educational Inequalities at the Intersection of Multiple Social Categories: A n Introduction and Systematic Review of the Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Accuracy (MAIHDA) Approach. Educational Psychology Review, 35(1), 31.

McCall, L. (2005). The Complexity of Intersectionality. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 30(3), 1771–1800.

Stirratt, M. J., Meyer, I. H., Ouellette, S. C., & Gara, M. A. (2008). Measuring identity multiplicity and intersectionality: Hierarchical Classes Analysis (HICLAS) of sexual, racial, and gender identities. Self and Identity, 7(1), 89–111.

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