Migration meets disability. Approaches to intersectionality in the context of a disability rights organization

Abstract

Despite the proliferation of intersectionality in academic research and political activism, the intersection of disability and migration remains neglected in academic research. With this paper, we contribute to exploring this interlinkage. Drawing on research in a disability rights organization, this paper explores different positions concerning the intersection of disability and migration. Proposing a typology of three different modes, we shed light on individual approaches towards this intersection and thereby explain the reluctance to change of an organization in correspondence with a slowly-moving field. Placing this analysis in a broader context, we contribute to an understanding of the construction of the category of disability and its intersections with other categories, in this case migration within the organizational context of a disability rights organization. We show varying perceptions of this intersection within one organization and highlight their underlying organizational and personal logics. By doing so, we identify forces of organizational inertia and resistance to diversity-related change. Finally, this paper encourages discussions on the incorporation of migrants in the field of disability more widely.