Beware of Policies Bearing Gifts

How Policies Enable Sanitized Intersectionality, Exclusive Inclusion, and Divertising

Bibliographic Data

ID21728004
AuthorsLaís Rodrigues (0000-0002-1038-7996, University of Coimbra, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume24
Issue2
Pages284-300
Publication date2026-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolicy Futures in Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1478-2103 • E-ISSN: 1478-2103
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14782103251381519
OpenAlexW4414353317
LanguageEN
References cited50

The requirement for Gender Equality Plans as a condition for Horizon Europe funding marks a significant institutional recognition of structural gender inequalities—not only within individual universities but across the broader higher education and research systems. Yet, this recognition comes at a cost. This paper critically examines how the institutionalization of intersectionality, diversity, and inclusion—framed as a triad by the Horizon Europe programme—facilitates their assimilation into procedural, compliance-driven practices that risk depoliticizing feminist and anti-oppression struggles. Adopting a problem-seeking approach informed by Carol Bacchi’s (2009) “What’s the problem represented to be?” framework, the analysis is guided by three central questions: (1) How is the triad (intersectionality, inclusion, diversity) represented? (2) What is left unproblematic in this representation? (3) What effects are (or could be) produced by this representation? The critical analysis of HE Guidance suggests that the hyper-visible commitment to the triad renders less/invisible how this triad is being (ab)used, limiting its potentiality. This includes the enactment of sanitized forms of intersectionality, a notion of inclusion that can be exclusionary, and a notion of diversity that primarily serves institutional branding. Simultaneously, there are ways in which GEPs might be used to combat gender inequalities, even if with limitations

Dilemma · Horizon · Institutional analysis · Institutionalisation · Limiting · Policy analysis · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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