diff --git a/policy/files/table.go b/policy/files/table.go
index a9a05148..536d30e5 100644
--- a/policy/files/table.go
+++ b/policy/files/table.go
@@ -16,7 +16,75 @@
 
 package files
 
-import "strings"
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"unicode"
+)
+
+// fieldsEscaped splits a string on whitespace boundaries, but preserves
+// whitespace that is escaped with a backslash. This allows for values
+// containing spaces to be represented in the policy file.
+func fieldsEscaped(s string) []string {
+	var currentField strings.Builder
+	escaped := false
+	fields := []string{}
+
+	for _, r := range s {
+		if escaped { // This will write the next character (including if it's an escape character or space)
+			// If we're in escaped mode, add the character regardless of what it is
+			currentField.WriteRune(r)
+			escaped = false
+			continue
+		}
+
+		if r == '\\' {
+			// Enter escaped mode for the next character
+			escaped = true
+			continue
+		}
+
+		if unicode.IsSpace(r) {
+			// We found a space and we're not in escaped mode, so this is a field boundary
+			if currentField.Len() > 0 {
+				fields = append(fields, currentField.String())
+				currentField.Reset()
+			}
+		} else {
+			// Not a space, add to current field
+			currentField.WriteRune(r)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Add the last field if there is one
+	if currentField.Len() > 0 {
+		fields = append(fields, currentField.String())
+	}
+
+	return fields
+}
+
+// writeEscaped takes an array of strings and returns a single string with each
+// element separated by a space. Any spaces or backslashes within the input strings
+// are escaped with a backslash to preserve them when parsing with fieldsEscaped.
+func writeEscaped(fields []string) string {
+	var result strings.Builder
+
+	for i, field := range fields {
+		if i > 0 {
+			result.WriteRune(' ')
+		}
+
+		for _, r := range field {
+			// Escape backslashes and spaces
+			if r == '\\' || unicode.IsSpace(r) {
+				result.WriteRune('\\')
+			}
+			result.WriteRune(r)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return result.String()
+}
 
 type Table struct {
 	rows [][]string
@@ -30,7 +98,8 @@ func NewTable(content []byte) *Table {
 		if row == "" {
 			continue
 		}
-		columns := strings.Fields(row)
+		// Parse the row using fieldsEscaped to handle escaped spaces and backslashes
+		columns := fieldsEscaped(row)
 		table = append(table, columns)
 	}
 	return &Table{rows: table}
@@ -51,7 +120,7 @@ func (t *Table) AddRow(row ...string) {
 func (t Table) ToString() string {
 	var sb strings.Builder
 	for _, row := range t.rows {
-		sb.WriteString(strings.Join(row, " ") + "\n")
+		sb.WriteString(writeEscaped(row) + "\n")
 	}
 	return sb.String()
 }
diff --git a/policy/files/table_test.go b/policy/files/table_test.go
index 963cb2bb..bae7145a 100644
--- a/policy/files/table_test.go
+++ b/policy/files/table_test.go
@@ -67,3 +67,165 @@ https://login.microsoftonline.com/9188040d-6c67-4c5b-b112-36a304b66dad/v2.0 096c
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestFieldsEscaped(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		input    string
+		expected []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     "empty string",
+			input:    "",
+			expected: []string{},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "simple space-separated words",
+			input:    "hello world test",
+			expected: []string{"hello", "world", "test"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "escaped spaces",
+			input:    `hello\ world test\ case`,
+			expected: []string{"hello world", "test case"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "escaped backslashes",
+			input:    `hello\\world test\\case`,
+			expected: []string{"hello\\world", "test\\case"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "mixed escapes",
+			input:    `hello\ world\\test case\\\ final`,
+			expected: []string{"hello world\\test", "case\\ final"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "multiple consecutive spaces",
+			input:    "hello   world     test",
+			expected: []string{"hello", "world", "test"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "trailing escape",
+			input:    `hello world\`,
+			expected: []string{"hello", "world"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "disappearing escapes",
+			input:    `\a\b\c\d\e\f\ghi\\\\\\jkl \mno\pqr\`,
+			expected: []string{"abcdefghi\\\\\\jkl", "mnopqr"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "escaped special characters",
+			input:    `hello\#world test\$case`,
+			expected: []string{"hello#world", "test$case"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "multiple escaped spaces",
+			input:    `hello\ \ \ world`,
+			expected: []string{"hello   world"},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result := fieldsEscaped(tt.input)
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.expected, result)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWriteEscaped(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		input    []string
+		expected string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     "empty slice",
+			input:    []string{},
+			expected: "",
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "single word",
+			input:    []string{"hello"},
+			expected: "hello",
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "simple words",
+			input:    []string{"hello", "world", "test"},
+			expected: "hello world test",
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "words with spaces",
+			input:    []string{"hello world", "test case"},
+			expected: `hello\ world test\ case`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "words with backslashes",
+			input:    []string{"hello\\world", "test\\case"},
+			expected: `hello\\world test\\case`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "mixed special characters",
+			input:    []string{"hello world\\test", "case\\ final"},
+			expected: `hello\ world\\test case\\\ final`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "multiple spaces",
+			input:    []string{"hello   world", "test"},
+			expected: `hello\ \ \ world test`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "special characters",
+			input:    []string{"hello#world", "test$case"},
+			expected: "hello#world test$case",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result := writeEscaped(tt.input)
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.expected, result)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRoundTrip tests that writeEscaped and fieldsEscaped work correctly together
+func TestRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name  string
+		input []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:  "empty slice",
+			input: []string{},
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "simple words",
+			input: []string{"hello", "world", "test"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "words with spaces",
+			input: []string{"hello world", "test case", "final test"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "words with backslashes",
+			input: []string{"hello\\world", "test\\case", "final\\test"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "mixed content",
+			input: []string{"hello world\\test", "case\\ final", "test\\case space"},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			// Convert to string and back to fields
+			escaped := writeEscaped(tt.input)
+			result := fieldsEscaped(escaped)
+
+			// Check if the round trip preserves the original input
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.input, result)
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/policy/policyloader_test.go b/policy/policyloader_test.go
index d5af822d..28ca31e3 100644
--- a/policy/policyloader_test.go
+++ b/policy/policyloader_test.go
@@ -345,6 +345,32 @@ func TestLoadSystemDefaultPolicy_Success(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Equal(t, testPolicy, gotPolicy)
 }
 
+func TestLoadSystemDefaultPolicyWithSpaces_Success(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	mockUserLookup := &MockUserLookup{User: ValidUser}
+	policyLoader := NewTestSystemPolicyLoader(afero.NewMemMapFs(), mockUserLookup)
+	mockFs := policyLoader.FileLoader.Fs
+	// Create policy file at default path with valid file
+	testPolicy := &policy.Policy{
+		Users: []policy.User{
+			{
+				IdentityAttribute: "oidc:groups:group with space",
+				Principals:        []string{"test"},
+				Issuer:            "https://example.com",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	testPolicyFile, err := testPolicy.ToTable()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	err = afero.WriteFile(mockFs, policy.SystemDefaultPolicyPath, testPolicyFile, 0640)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	gotPolicy, _, err := policyLoader.LoadSystemPolicy()
+
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, testPolicy, gotPolicy)
+}
+
 func TestDump_Success(t *testing.T) {
 	// Test that Dump writes the policy to the mock filesystem when there are no
 	// errors