Must include perspectives from the margin

(Catherine, Policy Discourse Analysis: Negotiating Gender Equity, J. Education Policy 15:2)

This detailed and earthy recounting of GEP illustrates lessons for policy analysts. First, policy issues emerging from the margins, presenting challenges to central policy arenas are important issues. We must not limit ourselves to analysis of these margins. Second, challenges from the politics includes the vibrant counter publics outside the hegemonic, formal, elected officials and agencies; as counter-narratives emerge, debates over philosophy and strategy are the micropolitics at the margin. From discourse among the challengers emerge the coalitions that articulate demands and gather momentum and power. Neglecting the politics from themargin is neglecting one-half of the politics. Finally, the politicking that occurs in talk is powerful. Challengers with counter-narratives, likeGEP workers, learned tomanage discourse. They know to select spokespersons that counteract denigrating words. They knew to banter and use humor, to settle their differences, to construct coherent counter-narratives lest powerful forces undermine their momentum. Their counterpublics coalesced around unanswered needs of parents, women teachers, feminists and unions and from weak ties among them, they found strength for social action. Cultural traditions (`fair go’), international feminism, womens Electoral Lobby and union strength become the unifying forces which commanded the respect of heretofore resistant policy arenas. Equity activists, too, can learn lessons from this analysis. First, the (retrospective) lessons of Australian gender activists identify ways to open policy windows, form coalitions, connect to concerns of more established groups (e.g., parents, unionized teachers) and to manage their image and discourse, maintain networks, and keep disputes private. Second, once legitimacy and constituency for the equity movement is established, working forcefully within the power centres is the challenge. Subtle tools include: identify budget sources; maintaining equity staff; widening research, evaluation and monitoring to expand equity agendas; and maintaining relationships both within policy arenas and externally, with activists who still agitate from the margin. Third, as culture values shift, as national policy priorities are redefined, and backlash against equity occurs, equity workers work with institutionalized structures (e.g. research and monitoring) and find ways to insert equity into new, popular priorities (e.g. quality assurance, `the boys movement’ ). They modify philosophical stances to fit equity into programs (e.g. anti-violence) which will be funded and supported when gender evokes or provokes that backlash. They move to jobs where they maintain their power in order to find quiet and subtle ways to continue GEP work. These equity policy strategists can reflect on this Australian case to identify stages from opening the window, pushing from within, to maintenance through backlash. Policy analysis will be enriched and gender equity activism will be more successful if these lessons are heeded. (150-1)