Power, Participation, and Positionality

This chapter critically examines the concept of gender empowerment through the lens of situated intersectionality within the Horizon Europe ReIncluGen project. While widely employed in policy and civil society discourses, empowerment often remains underdefined and embedded in hierarchical and racialised frameworks—particularly in relation to migrantised women. Building on feminist standpoint theory, situated knowledges, and intersectionality, we argue that empowerment must be understood as a relational, context-dependent or situated process rather than a universal or static goal. Situated intersectionality extends intersectional analysis by emphasising the importance of translocality, transcalarity, and transtemporality. These dimensions allow us to analyse how empowerment is shaped across diverse geographical, institutional, and temporal contexts, and how our research project aims to encounter issues related to positionality, power, and participation. Applying these theoretical and conceptual frameworks also has its consequences for methodological approach. Using participatory approaches is suited as these approaches foreground the epistemic value of lived experiences, emotions, and community knowledges, while also confronting persistent challenges related to translation, power asymmetries, and uneven participation.