Gender in public administration

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Gender has historically played an important role in public administration. Gender perception and other factors influence the ways in which people think about public administration and bureaucracy. In today's society, public administration remains widely segregated in regard to gender, though it has become commonplace to advocate for greater numbers of equality and non-discrimination policies.

Overview

During the early years of public administration, textbooks and curriculum largely overlooked

and dismissed contributions that reflected women's experience. The later 1900s brought heightened sensitivity of these issues to the forefront, with shifts in public opinion producing the .

In 1864 the U.S. Government declared that when women were employed by the government, they should be paid one half of the salary that a man would be paid to perform exactly the same job. Though

History of patrimony in public administration

Gender norms and the shaping of public administration

When examining the role of gender in public administration, there are frequently two competing schools of thought: the "feminine" approach centers on social justice issues, while the "masculine" approach emphasizes efficiency and impartiality. These methods were employed harmoniously prior to World War I, with men and women cooperating to "emphasize the principles of classical pragmatism [and focus] on the efficient execution of policy but also on societal cooperation and the strengthening of public knowledge." After the outbreak of the war however, a shift in American public administration occurred. As the public administration system became more reliant on male-dominated organizations such as the

) that began aggressively funding "programs that clearly distinguished between 'scientific research' and the advocacy work" of other organizations.

In addition to the increased reliance on masculine principles, American society's approach to social science began to change and thus influenced public admin. For example, in the late 1890s economists altered the way they studied by focusing less on general trends and more on statistics and hard facts. Sociology, on the other hand, remained focused "on a specialized knowledge based on the value-neutral pursuit of abstract generalizations about human relations" and continued to promote social justice. This dichotomy is largely responsible for the relegation of women to "more congenial specialties such as social work" while men remained leaders in finance and other scientifically driven organizations.^[3]

Human capital theory

People who ascribe themselves to human capital theory have a different explanation of the differing representations of men and women in public administration and workplaces in general. Where some scholars have argued that men and women's roles in government come from a historic separation based on the opposition of "

The sociopsychological theory

Following the rise of human capital theory, and in response to many of its criticisms, researchers and sociologists developed the sociopsychological theory. This theory, like human capital theory before it, attributes a great deal of emphasis on the differing qualifications between men and women. What this theory does differently however, is give attention to the sociological constructs that inhibit women's inability to acquire equal qualifications. For example, these theorists argue that where men are typically attributed with social characteristics such as, "aggressiveness, ambition, and self-confidence," women have been deemed "affectionate, kind, sensitive, and soft-spoken" and are therefore like to be regarded by an employer as inferior to a man with the same qualifications. Sociopsychological theorists go on to argue that because of these differences, it is difficult for a woman to enter a profession heavily dominated by men because they are likely to be viewed as incompetent or less competent than their male counterparts. It has been argued that this fear of incompetency has led women to embrace more

characteristics at the expense of femininity.

In addition to predictions about the effects of personality traits on the role of women in the workforce, sociopsychological theorists argue that women's representation is largely due to the role of sociological stereotypes and

Benefits of gender diversity in public administration

Gender and diversity are necessary themes in public administration. They remind the field to embrace otherness and to comprehend the effect it has on policies, programs, and outcomes. In recent decades attention to the difference that differentness makes has spurred appreciation for divergent perspectives on, and interpretations of, public service. This is imperative if the discipline is to strive for the normative ideal of democratic governance.[5]

Public administration was first established as a matter of technical implementation where the values of efficiency and effectiveness were paramount. This upside down priority meant that the principles of social equity, protection of minority rights, and

Marginalized gender identities in public administration

• Women, trans and non-binary folks, etc.

There has been a striking increase in the proportion of MPA students and public administration faculty who are women, perhaps a result of the increase in both supply and demand for gender-related scholarship, or, alternatively, due to the increase in female public administrators. Yet many of the systems that persist in the workplace were built for people who do not get pregnant, who have no need for nursing rooms at the office, no need for maternity leave or early afternoon hours in order to pick children up after school, and have no need for eldercare and childcare responsibilities.[5]

Statistics of marginalized demographics in public administration

• History of
  marginalized presence in public administration—Currently, gender, religion, sexuality, representative bureaucracy, and ethnicity, are on the rise. Writings on sexuality are on the increase as more articles appear on the subject of same sex marriage, workplace benefits, and issues surrounding transgender nondiscrimination policy.^[5]

International case studies: marginalized gender identities in public administration

Spanish municipalities

Upon investigating the gender make-up of 155 Spanish municipalities, researchers discovered that most departments in

councilwomen

. For the researchers in the study, these statistics painted an interesting picture. Despite the existence of neutral territory (commerce and local markets, citizen participation/attention, employment and training, and internal regime and personnel), certain areas of government were found to be heavily gendered in correlation with existing gender stereotypes with men domination economics and finance and women remaining in areas that have more to deal with social justice. This analysis was then used to conclude that even as women are becoming involved and employed in politics on a much larger scale than in years prior, women remain confined to areas that have been deemed feminine in a predominantly masculine, male-driven system.^[7]

Challenges for marginalized gender identities in public admin

• Social/cultural barriers
• Economic barriers
• National and global scale of barriers

Policies for increased gender representation in public administration

Policies that are currently active in the United States that aim to increase minority representation in public offices, places and of commerce have become more prevalent in the current political atmosphere.

State Non-Discrimination Policies	Employment Non-Discrimination Act (pending): Because there is no federal protection of the LGBT community in terms of workplace discrimination, the US Congress has repeatedly attempted to pass some form of legislation to this effect. ENDA is the most recent of these attempts Despite the lacking federal legislation in this area, twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to this effect.[8]
Federal Non-Discrimination Policies	Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: "This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants' and employees' sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business."[9]
Equal Rights Ordinances	Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO): "The measure bans discrimination based not just on sexual orientation and gender identity but also, as federal laws do, sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy and genetic information, as well as family, marital or military status." "The ordinance applies to businesses that serve the public, private employers, housing, city employment and city contracting. Religious institutions would be exempt. Violators could be fined up to $5,000."[10]

• Movements (i.e. grassroots movements) for more representation policies

Notable figures of marginalized identities in public administration

Mary Anderson

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, a movement involving the advocacy of social justice feminism began in the United States under Florence Kelley. It was during this time that many women entered the public sphere as they called for greater women's labor legislation and equality. One of these women, Mary Anderson, achieved great report in public administration through her continued efforts to create and encourage equality in government and in bureaucracy.^{[citation needed]}

Though she immigrated to the United States from Sweden in the mid-1880s, Mary Anderson established a reputation amongst Samuel Gompers and other famous members of the labor movement by the 1910s. Anderson's role in the movement involved the drafting of an important management-labor agreement following a prominent garment worker's strike in 1911. Propelling herself forward from this success amongst labor advocates, Anderson was able to create an "extensive lobbying campaign" to include a women's division in the United States Department of Labor. Despite being unsuccessful in her lobbying endeavors, Anderson's notability granted her the position of head of the Women's Bureau when it was established as a permanent organization following the passage of the 20th amendment in 1920.^[3]

Susan Stanton

Susan Ashley Stanton is a

]

References

Further reading

• Bayes, J. H. (1991). "Women in public administration in the United States". Women & Politics. 11 (4): 85–109.
  ProQuest 213891805
  .
• Bayes, J. H. (1991). "Women and public administration: A comparative perspective- conclusion". Women & Politics. 11 (4): 111–131.
  ProQuest 213901740
  .
• Harris, J. W. (1994). "Introductory public administration textbooks: Integrating scholarship on women". Women & Politics. 14 (1): 83–101.
  ProQuest 213902164
  .
• Stivers, C (1990). "Toward a feminist perspective in public administration theory". Women & Politics. 10 (4): 49–65.
  ProQuest 213892261
  .
• Hinojosa, Magda; Sahir-Rosenfield, Sarah (2014). "Does Female Incumbency Reduce Gender Bias in Elections? Evidence from Chile". Political Research Quarterly. 67 (4): 4.
  S2CID 153365228
  .
• Black, Jerome H.; Erickson, Lynda (2003). "Women Candidates and Voter Bias: Do Women Politicians Need to Be Better?". Electoral Studies. 22: 81–100.
  doi:10.1016/s0261-3794(01)00028-2
  .
• Carpinella, Colleen; Johnson, Kerri (2013). "Politics of the Face: The Role of Sex-Typicality In Trait Assessments of Politicians". Social Cognition. 31 (6): 6.
  doi:10.1521/soco.2013.31.6.770
  .
• Johns, R.; Shepard, M. (2007). "Gender, candidate image and electoral preference". British Journal of Politics and International Relations. 9 (3): 434–460.
  S2CID 144866803
  .
• Lenz, G. S.; Lawson, C. (2011). "Looking the part: Television leads less informed citizens to vote based on candidates' appearance" (PDF). American Journal of Political Science. 55 (3): 574–589.
  hdl:1721.1/96161
  .
• Stivers, Camilla. Gender Images In Public Administration : Legitimacy And The Administrative State / Camilla Stivers. n.p.: Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications, [2002], 2002. Texas State - Alkek Library's Catalog. Web. March 8, 2015.
• Park, Sanghee (2013). "Does Gender Matter? The Effect Of Gender Representation Of Public Bureaucracy On Governmental Performance". American Review of Public Administration. 43 (2): 221–242.
  S2CID 154936915
  .
• Hutchinson, Janet R.; Mann, Hollie S. (2006). "Gender Anarchy And The Future Of Feminisms In Public Administration". Administrative Theory & Praxis. 28 (3): 399–417.
  S2CID 147421551
  .
• Riccucci, Norma M.; Van Ryzin, Gregg G.; Lavena, Cecilia F. (2014). "Representative Bureaucracy in Policing: Does It Increase Perceived Legitimacy?". J Public Adm Res Theory. 24 (3): 537–551.
  doi:10.1093/jopart/muu006
  .