LIST OF PANELS

Objectives and scientific relevance:

Embedded within the question of which problems or issues are gaining attention, are the related questions: who are the target groups, and how are they represented in policy-making venues and affected by policy implementation? Public policy-making and their implementation is not always fair or equitable- some policies exclude target group that are more likely to benefit from them and give benefits to certain groups more so than others. Representation and meaningful engagement of diverse and marginalized groups such as, women, LGBTQ people, racialized groups, Indigenous people, and persons with disabilities can shape policy issues and solutions.

The Diversity Institute is organizing a panel discussion to explore ways of entrenching gender and diversity within institutions, governing structures, and organizations within the context of existing power and gender imbalances that traditionally exclude marginalized groups and their interests from public policy venues. The broad aim of this panel is to understand the ways in which institutions and organizational structures exclude some target groups and their interests in policy-making and policy implementation in these settings.

This panel will be organized into two sessions, one focusing on the representation and differential treatment of diverse and marginalized groups such as, women, LGBTQ people, and racialized groups in various settings across the world, and one aimed at understanding how change can be brought about in institutional frameworks and organizational structures for more equitable representation of such groups.

We will examine diverse policy-making and implementing venues such as political institutions, local governance structures, schools, and academia as well as several target groups including women and LGBTQ groups in developed and developing countries.

The question of target group representation can be explored from an institutional approach or critical perspective. While some argue that powerful actors or strong advocacy /interest groups can increase representation of target groups in policy venues, others believe that institutions constrain actors' choices and actions. From an institutionalist perspective, representation could be made better and more effective by changing institutional laws and norms. This view could be challenged from a critical policy perspective; arguing that all decision-making is subject to biases, issue framing, and social constructions of target groups which are unlikely to be influenced by legislation.

Theoretical and empirical works that have looked at existing laws, frameworks, and practices, discussed their strengths and limitations, and proposed solutions that apply to diverse settings are included.   

Call for papers: Gender, Diversity, and Representation of Target Groups in Public Policy Making Venues

The Diversity Institute is organizing a panel discussion to explore whether legislative measures can have an impact on entrenching gender and diversity within institutional frameworks, governing structures, and organizational norms within the context of existing power and gender imbalances that traditionally exclude marginalized groups and their interests from policy-making venues.

Some public policies tend to exclude a target group that is most likely to benefit from it and deem some people less deserving than others. Representation and meaningful engagement of diverse and marginalized groups in governing and policy-making venues remains a challenge for ethno-racially diverse Western countries. Canada has adopted Bill C-25 mandating the representation of women and diverse groups on the governing boards as a possible solution to it. Whether legislative measures can increase representation of groups such as, women, LGBTQ people, racialized groups, Indigenous people, and persons with disabilities in pubic policy making venues and processes remains unclear. This panel aims to discuss this issue.  

The organizers are interested in both theoretical and empirical works which could take an institutional or critical policy analytic approach to address broad research question: whether legislative measures can change institutional frameworks, governing structures, and organizational norms within the context of existing power and gender imbalances that traditionally exclude marginalized groups and their interests from policy-making venues?  focusing on Canadian and other immigrant receiving Western Societies.

Papers exploring a range of related research questions could be included. Examples of some research questions are:

• How can we increase gender, diversity, and representation in decision making venues, including public and private corporations and agencies?
• Can legislature improve representation of target groups in institutional contexts in ways that drive positive policy change?
• Could such legislature be institutionalized so as to become normative and exclusionary to the groups that they deem to represent?
• What other some of the non-legislative approaches to improving representation of target groups in Western societies (lessons learnt)?
• What is the role of independent groups, think tanks, interest groups in gender and diversity representation?

Instructions: Please submit an abstract with no more than 350 words including the background and aim, theoretical framework(s), methods of data collection (if applicable), results/findings, and conclusions. Empirical research, theoretical discussions as well as other evidence-based policy papers that fit with the panel theme could be submitted.

About the organizer: The Diversity Institute at Ryerson University conducts and coordinates multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder research to address the needs of diverse Canadians. Our action-oriented, evidence-based approach is advancing knowledge of the complex barriers faced by underrepresented groups, leading practices to effect change, and producing concrete results.