The personal in the policy cascade

Abstract

Policy change can cascade down from law and regulation, but Giddens’ structuration theory argues that it can also flow upward from everyday action. We all have the power to take immediate action in our professional lives to create the policies we want. We use the example of gender equality to show the daily choices that you as an IS academic can make that strengthen or change existing policies. You can enhance the voices of members of undervalued groups, reduce inequities in access to resources and positions of power, and create and enforce rules, regulations, and codes that encourage more equitable outcomes. Policy influences action, but action equally influences policy. Your everyday actions either reinforce existing policies and structures or undermine and change them. We should make these choices mindfully, with an understanding of the power we are wielding, the values we are enacting, and the society we are creating.