Strategic Intersectionality: Gender, Ethnicity, and Political Incorporation

"We examine whether Latina elected officials, relative to their co-ethnic male counterparts, are more effective advocates for working class communities of color. Building upon the literature on political incorporation, gender politics, and ethnic politics, we hypothesize that Latina legislators are better positioned to be such advocates due to their unique capacity to leverage three primary resources: substantive policy focus, a multiple identity advantage, and a gender inclusive advantage. We refer to the combination of these three factors as strategic intersectionality. We test our model of strategic intersectionality using the National Latina/o State Legislator Survey (NLSLS), an original data set of thirty-minute telephone interviews with over half of all Latinos and Latinas who served in state legislatures during 2004. We find evidence for the presence of strategic intersectionality. However, its presence is not the same in all policy contexts. We conclude that strategic intersectionality is comprised of complex, multi-layered patterns of advocacy, representation, and policy influence." Source: Institute of Governmental Studies. Paper WP2006-32. University of California, Berkeley

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