Super-diversity and intersectionality

This chapter discusses the concepts of super-diversity and intersectionality in relation to the literature on ageing and migration. Both super-diversity and intersectionality are multi-dimensional concepts. Super-diversity stresses the increased heterogeneity within the population due to the various countries of origin, motifs for migration, legal statuses, and life course trajectories, among others. Intersectionality aims to understand sources of inequality as they emerge at the intersection of several factors, the main ones being gender, class and race. Scholars in ageing and respectively migration studies have engaged with these concepts, although they are not predominant. Using the concepts of super-diversity and intersectionality to study the ageing - migration nexus would provide researchers with the tools to grasp the heterogeneity of the older migrant population, capture source of inequality, and avoid ‘one size fits all’ policies to address such diverse populations.