An Empirical Study of Intersectionality and Multiple Disadvantage Among Women in Urban Poverty in Kano

Intersectionality theory argues that gender disadvantage is inseparable from class, ethnicity, disability, and other identity dimensions, producing distinct and compounded forms of inequality. This study applies an empirical intersectionality framework to examine multiple disadvantage among women in urban poverty in Kano, North West Nigeria. A mixed-method design was employed, combining a quantitative survey of 240 low-income women in Fagge, Gwale, and Dala Local Government Areas with 30 in-depth interviews exploring lived experiences of intersecting disadvantage. Latent class analysis and thematic analysis were applied. Findings identify five distinct intersectional disadvantage profiles among the sample, combining gender with poverty, ethnic minority status, disability, and migration experience in ways that produce qualitatively different exclusion outcomes not predictable from any single dimension. Women facing three or more intersecting disadvantages demonstrate significantly worse outcomes on all wellbeing, economic, and agency indicators. Service delivery systems are found to address gender or poverty in isolation, missing the compounded needs of multiply disadvantaged women. This study makes an original methodological contribution by operationalising intersectionality theory using latent class analysis for an African urban context, advancing beyond descriptive intersectional accounts. Recommendations address integrated service design and intersectionality-aware social policy. Keywords: intersectionality, multiple disadvantage, urban poverty, women, Kano