Toolkit 3: What is intersectionality?
The objective of toolkit 3 is to introduce intersectionality as a foundational concept of what Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) is.
GBA Plus is the Government of Canada’s approach to intersectional analysis. Intersectional analysis can be used as an assessment tool to help understand how different parts of people’s identities, known as “social identity factors,” interact with each other and with society, institutions and systems. These multi-level interactions create unique circumstances for people, such as their experiences of advantage and disadvantage, and their access to—or lack of access to—positive or desired outcomes.
The intersectionality overview provides a visual representation of intersectionality, which is presented as a framework to help describe how individuals and communities are impacted by various social identity factors as they interact with:
- each other
- society (in the context of group membership)
- organizations (in the context of institutional power such as policies and practices)
- systems of power (including prejudice and discrimination)
To learn more about intersectionality, watch the video on intersectionality.
To understand the key considerations used in GBA Plus when analyzing intersectionality, consult the intersectionality overview.
Intersectionality: Learning application
Read the Canadian Rangers and Arctic security case study and Canadian Rangers scenario, and complete the exercises.
Case study: Canadian Rangers and Arctic security
The Canadian Arctic covers 40% of Canada’s territory and is home to more than 200,000 people, more than half of whom are Inuit. Even before the growing impact of climate change and the permafrost thaw in the Canadian Arctic, for decades the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has been engaged in the defence and security of Canada’s northern territory.
It was during the Cold War that CAF established the Canadian Rangers - a small, mobile force that is part of the Canadian Army Reserve. They provide local operational capability, and support to community resiliency in remote, northern, coastal and isolated areas of Canada which cannot be as effectively supported by other elements of the CAF and the federal government.
Canadian Rangers live and work in more than 200 communities and speak 26 different languages and dialects. As of August 2023:
- 23% of the Canadian Rangers self-identify as Indigenous
- 21% are women and 79% men
- There are currently 196 Canadian Ranger Patrols with a total of 5,131 members
- There are currently 157 Junior Canadian Rangers Patrols with a total of 2,993 members
Because of the nature of what they do and their northern and remote location, Canadian Rangers are structured differently. They are Class A members belonging to a sub-component of the reserves with mandated 12 training days. They may participate in Canadian Ranger Basic Military Indoctrination (CRBMI) and continue with a Canadian Ranger Patrol Leader Course (CRPLC); however, they are assumed qualified upon enrolment. Unlike the traditional CAF promotion practices, Canadian Rangers elect their own Patrol leadership from Patrol Sergeant down to the Patrol Corporal positions.
They also cannot be deployed overseas. Canadian Rangers are a lightly equipped and self-sufficient mobile force, in support of CAF domestic operations and training. The tasks assigned to the Canadian Rangers include the following:
- Conduct and provide support to Sovereignty Operations
- Conduct and provide assistance to Domestic Operations
- Maintain a CAF presence in the local community
- Instruct, mentor, and supervise the Junior Canadian Rangers
- Support and participate in events in the local community
Their insights into the geography, culture and languages of the north are invaluable. The Canadian Rangers also play a critical role in support of Indigenous communities, including during the pandemic through the transportation and distribution of information and supplies, provision of wellness checks, and staffing of emergency centres. In addition, they provide evacuation support in the event of flooding and fires in northern communities as part of OP LENTUS.
- Review the social identity factors wheel, then identify three to four relevant social identity factors from the case study.
For example:- A social identity factor is indigeneity
- Indicated in the Canadian Rangers case study when referring to its composition: 23% identify as indigenous
- Review the intersectionality overview, then, using the social identity factors from question 1, identify the relevant intersectionality considerations for each social identity factor, as it relates to group membership, institutional power and systems of power.
For example, using the social identity factor of indigeneity:- relevant examples of group membership could be First Nations, Inuit or Métis
- relevant examples of institutional power could be rights and privileges associated with being a Status vs Non-Status Indian
- relevant examples of systems of power could be colonialism and/or anti-Indigenous racism
Scenario: Canadian Rangers patrolling
Imagine being a Canadian Ranger going on patrol for the first time.
- You scan the local environment and the patterns of life.
- You take note of the local social norms, which are the patterns of behaviours, expectations and power dynamics.
Using GBA Plus enables you to unpack these patterns based on the various social identity factors, such as culture, age or gender and how they impact behaviour, expectations and power dynamics.
- Review the social identity factors wheel, then identify some social identity factors that would be relevant to consider when patrolling a northern and/or remote community in Canada.
- Review the intersectionality overview, then explain how your course of action (COA) would change if, in your assessment of the cultural and political power dynamics of the local environment, you discover that it was more culturally appropriate to speak to an Elder and to bring tobacco as a gift during this interaction.
- Describe how your COA would be impacted by having learned – through a trusted and credible key informant – that there is some mistrust between community members and government actors, especially people in uniform.
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