The Presence and Absence of Gender and Intersectionality in the 2023 NDIS Review: A Content Analysis

Public policy increasingly applies the term ‘intersectionality’ to describe overlapping forms of discrimination that result in inequitable outcomes. The inconsistent use of 'intersectionality' can however exacerbate inequities by displacing the systemic origin of barriers. This paper interprets key documents from the 2023 Review of Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to illustrate the understandings and representations of real-world impacts of 'intersectional' disparities. While a world-leading initiative, the NDIS has received criticism for its design and implementation. There remains a significant issue of gender inequality in access to supports and services. In this paper we respond to the question: was the 2023 NDIS Review successful in addressing the persistent problem of gender inequality?

To answer this question, we present a content analysis of key documents produced through the 2023 NDIS Review, to investigate whether and how the Review acknowledges and integrates gender inequality into its recommendations. The analysis assessed the frequency and conceptualisation of gender-related terms and of the Review’s preferred term, ‘intersectionality.’

As a concrete case study of broader trends in the development of health and disability policy, this analysis found that the Review documents have limited references to gender-specific terms, often replacing them with ‘intersectionality’. However, this preferred term lacked an explicit definition and was operationalised inconsistently. Through this example, we conclude that dilutions of ‘intersectionality’ as a concept in public policy continue to obscure the gendered foundation of issues to the level of individuals or groups, sidelining systemic critique. This means that both the recommendations and the findings of the Review largely ignore gender inequalities that people with disabilities experience. Importantly, our paper highlights the need for policy makers and researchers to operationalise the term ‘intersectionality’ deliberately and consistently.