The representative bureaucracy theoretical framework explores the link between bureaucrats’ social and demographic characteristics and their likelihood to take actions that benefit citizens with whom they share identities. This meta-review analyzes 96 peer-reviewed representative bureaucracy journal articles to explore how the theoretical framework is described and applied and to track the contextual development of representative bureaucracy over time. Despite how far the field has come in connecting bureaucratic identity to normative policy outcomes, we find that the application of the theoretical framework is operationalized using a narrow set of shared identities (race and gender). In addition, we conclude that representative bureaucracy has been applied in limited geographic, methodological, and policy areas. Our article argues that the absence of studies that focus on intersectional identities, different geographic and policy contexts, and more qualitative and mixed methods impedes our understanding of the link between passive and active representation.
This study conducts a systematic review of 98 peer-reviewed journal articles that empirically investigate the presence of the gender pay gap along with factors that espouse it in organizations. The purposes of this study are threefold. First, it aims to explore trends in recurring themes that surface as factors that engender the gender pay gap in the workforce. Second, based on identified themes, the review summarizes and compares the gender pay gap by sector. Finally, the study presents a discussion on how the public sector fairs out in closing the gender pay gap and factors that predict it.
The public sector prides itself on being a place where women and other marginalized groups can find shelter from workplace discrimination. Still, gender inequities are evident in the public sector workforce. In this article, interview data from city managers and police officers highlight the gendered internal organizational processes, arrangements, and interactions that impact women's experiences in male-dominated roles. Despite seemingly equal opportunities to access and engagement in these bureaucratic roles, the findings suggest that women constantly face gendered barriers and boundaries that directly impact their experiences on the job and their work-related outcomes. Legislative and administrative remedies are not sufficient to eliminate gendered experiences of women in maledominated roles. Rather, a cultural change from within the workplace is vital to realize the efforts of civil rights laws established more than 50 years ago. Evidence for Practice • Women in male-dominated roles in the public sector face covert barriers that have implications for their daily work experiences and subsequent job-related outcomes. • Gender inequities can be rooted and reproduced in organizational structures, processes, and the design of work. Thus, organizational commitment to conduct an internal inventory of places where inequities are reproduced is essential. • Gender analysis skills are an integral part of preparing the current and future public administration workforce to identify differential experiences and outcomes for women in public service.
For the last 50 years, the U.S. government has worked to address the sex pay gap in the workforce. Nevertheless, the pay gap remains persistent across sectors and organizational hierarchies. This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of sex and authority profile on the pay gap of city managers in the United States. The study uses ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis to predict the relationship between a city manager’s sex and authority profile variables as well as the relationship between authority profile variables and a city manager’s annual salary. Our OLS analysis shows that sex (being a male city manager) along with workplace authority variables are all positive and significant predictors of pay. The study also finds that, on average, female city managers earn 73% of what male city managers earn. They also manage 60% of the number of employees and oversee 62% of the annual budget compared with male city managers.
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