‘Intersectionality’: An Indispensable Theory for Social Workers Promoting Social Justice in Ireland

Within contemporary Irish society structural inequality and discrimination are pervading realities. Social workers are mandated to challenge these forms of misrecognition and empower service users to take action for change.In this context, this article argues that the feminist theory of intersectionality casts a critical light on modern day oppression and structural disparities within Irish society. It illuminates how different forms of ‘othering’ - linked to identity markers such as gender, race, class, sexuality,and age - intersect and combine into a power matrix affecting social identities, difference,and the distribution of power. Armed with an intersectional awareness of the imbricated nature of oppression, it is argued that social workers in Ireland can deepen their ‘structural’ empathy for excluded individuals and groups and adopt a multi-dimensional form of advocacy to empower them.