When and why do political elites address the (perceived) needs of women belonging to disempowered social categories? As a rule doubly‐disadvantaged citizens are neglected in public policy making, even by groups purporting to speak for “women” or “minorities,” as well as by parties claiming to represent such interests. Nonetheless, at times public discourse and policy initiatives actually do turn their attention to the problems marginalized women face – or are perceived to experience – and political elites consider these issues. In this paper I seek to understand why and through which channels such developments occur; my conclusions are both theoretical in nature and empirically-driven based on recent policy debates in Germany. The paper will help shed light on the similarities and differences various subgroups of women have in accessing the political system. I expect all disempowered women face challenges in obtaining the support of both women’s groups and (male‐dominated) minority organizations for their cause. This lack of attention, combined with doubly‐disempowered women’s comparative lack of resources to organize in their own, is likely to spill‐over into a lack of attention on the part of political elites. However, I also hypothesize that, depending on the axis of intersection and the issue at hand, some marginalized women will have an easier time than others organizing and gaining allies from among women’s and minority groups and, eventually, attention from policy makers.
