Why does the Race Equality Action Plan not name specific religions or groups such as LGBTQ+ communities? 

The Race Equality Action Plan focuses specifically on addressing racism and racial and ethnic inequality, while recognising that people’s experiences of discrimination and disadvantage are often shaped by multiple, intersecting identities, including religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status, and migration status. Naming every potentially affected group individually within a single action plan risks fragmenting responsibility and unintentionally excluding some groups whose experiences do not fit neatly into predefined categories.  

Instead, this plan adopts an intersectional approach. This means that while the plan is framed around race and ethnicity, its actions are designed to capture and respond to the overlapping forms of disadvantage experienced by people whose multiple identity characteristics place them at the intersection of race with religion, or sexual orientation or gender identity, or disability, or any other protected characteristics. Importantly, this approach does not deny or diminish the experiences of religious or LGBTQ+ communities. Rather, it reflects an understanding that these groups are already addressed through other equality frameworks and legal protections, and that race equality work must be coordinated rather than siloed. By embedding intersectionality into implementation, monitoring, and review, the plan seeks to ensure that no group is rendered invisible, while maintaining clarity of scope, accountability, and alignment with national equality and human rights obligations.

What is intersectionality and why does it matter in an Irish context? 

Intersectionality is a framework for understanding how multiple identity characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or migration status interact to shape lived experiences of advantage or disadvantage. This is simply put, an ‘identity-based’ understanding of intersectionality, which may be expanded upon to include a ‘systems-based’ understanding of intersectionality which takes into account the structures of disadvantage associated with one or several of the identities (or statuses) simultaneously. As Advance HE explains, ‘intersectionality means recognising that people’s identities and social positions are shaped by several factors, which create unique experiences and perspectives.’ The concept of intersectionality was first articulated by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw and is now widely used in equality law, social policy, and education research. In an Irish context, intersectionality matters because individuals may experience multiple, intersecting forms of discrimination that are not adequately understood when identities are considered in isolation. Irish equality and human rights bodies recognise that addressing inequality effectively requires attention to these overlapping dynamics, particularly in areas such as education, employment, healthcare, and public services.

How is intersectionality relevant to higher education in Ireland? 

Intersectionality helps institutions understand why some students or staff face compounded barriers to access, participation, progression, or sense of belonging. For example, the experiences of a Traveller student, a Black Irish woman, or a disabled migrant academic cannot be fully understood by looking at a single protected (equality) ground alone. Applying an intersectional lens supports more effective policy development, inclusive teaching and assessment practices, fair recruitment and promotion, and responsive student supports. National policy expectations increasingly emphasise the need for higher education institutions to address inequality in a nuanced, evidence-based way that reflects lived experience rather than one-size-fits-all approaches. In this vein, by signing the HEA Anti-Racism Principles, higher education institutions are undertaking to both advance race equality in higher education and to do so by adopting an intersectional and intercultural approach when developing anti-racism actions and policies.

Is intersectionality recognised in Irish equality and anti-discrimination frameworks? 

Yes. While Irish equality legislation is structured around specific protected grounds, statutory bodies and policy frameworks increasingly recognise that intersectional discrimination occurs. This is where disadvantage arises from a combination of grounds rather than a single one. Guidance from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) encourages public bodies, including higher education institutions, to consider how policies and practices may impact people differently depending on intersecting identities. Furthermore, this approach aligns with international human rights standards and strengthens compliance with public sector equality and human rights duties by promoting more comprehensive impact assessment and monitoring.

How does an intersectional approach improve policy and decision making in Irish institutions? 

An intersectional approach improves policy and decision making by helping institutions identify who is most affected by policies, and why, rather than assuming that all members of a single group have the same experiences. In Ireland, this is particularly important in higher education institutions that are subject to the statutory Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty. By integrating intersectionality into data collection, consultation, monitoring and reporting/reviewing, UCC can design more effective responses to inequality, in compliance with national, regional and international standards on both race equality and anti-racism measures.

References

Shreya Atrey, Intersectional Discrimination (OUP 2019) 

Kimberlé Crenshaw, ‘Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics’ (1989) 140 The University of Chicago Legal Forum 139-167 

European Commission (High Level Group on Non-discrimination, Equality and Diversity), Guidance note on the collection and use of equality data based on racial or ethnic origin (2021), available at <https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/202202/guidance_note_on_the_collection_and_use_of_equality_data_based_on_racial_or_ethnic_origin_final.pdf> 

Gauthier De Beco, ‘Intersectionality and disability in international human rights law’ (2020) International Journal of Human Rights 24(5) 593- 614. 

Advance HE, Athena SWAN Ireland FAQs: Intersectionality, available at <https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/equality-charters/international-charters/athena-swan-ireland/FAQs/intersectionality> 

Higher Education Authority, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education Campaign 2025-2026, available at <https://hea.ie/policy/gender/equality-diversity-and-inclusion-in-higher-education-campaign-2025-2026/> 

Higher Education Authority, Race Equality: Anti-Racism Principles for Irish Higher Education Institutions (2023), available at <https://hea.ie/assets/uploads/2022/ 03/Anti-Racism-Principles-for-Irish-Higher-Education-Institutions.pdf> 

Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), Ireland and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women for the List of Issues Prior to Reporting on Ireland’s 8th periodic cycle (September 2023), available at <https://www.ihrec.ie/publications/ireland-and-the-convention-on-the-elimination-of-all-forms-of-discrimination-against-women-cedaw> 

IHREC, ‘Public Sector Duty’, available at <https://www.ihrec.ie/public-sector-duty> 

Anuj Kapilashrami, ‘Embracing Intersectionality to Interrogate and Action Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Teaching and Learning’ (2021), Advance HE News, available at <https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-views/embracing-intersectionality-interrogate-and-action-eq> 

Oluchi Porter, Siobhan Kangataran, Nata Duvvury & Lucy Michael, ‘The Emergence of an Intersectional Race Equality Agenda Within Irish Higher Education’ in Lorraine McIlrath, Lorraine Leeson, Helen Maher, Marie Connolly (eds) Transforming Gender Equality and Inclusion Within Higher Education in Ireland Contemporary Perspectives (Palgrave Macmillan 2025)