Quantitative intersectionality: Imperatives and opportunities for advancing social equity

Abstract

Social equity is a pillar of public administration (PA), yet its actualization remains elusive. The path forward to closing persistent social equity gaps requires the utilization of quantitative intersectionality in PA. This article explores the literature related to quantitative intersectionality and the imperative for use in the scholarship and practices of PA. To exemplify this concept in practice, we present a case study examining Vocational Rehabilitation performance data reports. Findings illustrate how quantitative intersectionality provides an opportunity to unpack overlapping identities for people with disabilities whose individual characteristics include historically oppressed race/ethnicity and gender identities. Findings assert the imperative for using quantitative intersectionality to achieve social equity for all.

Justice in Black and Brown: The impact of political control and representative bureaucracy on street level outcomes

“…Thus, the models include two dichotomous variables: Female Sheriff and Female State Attorney . Although the examination of intersectionality and representative bureaucracy has produced significant findings in recent years (see Fay et al, 2021; Whitebread et al, 2022), there are too few female officials in Florida to examine the combined impact of race and sex. To account for organizational socialization of top law enforcement officials (Oberfield, 2010), we use Young Sheriff and Young State Attorney , indicators equal to 1 for job tenure less than 10 years and zero otherwise.…”

Inequity in access to healthy foods

“…As noted above, the relevant disaggregation for a study of inequities varies by context but is commonly related to race, ethnicity, gender, social class, religion, and/or age. The vast literature cited earlier on inequities across various parts of food systems and in these outcomes points consistently to data gaps and the need for creative statistical methodologies to overcome the issue of sampling strategies ill-suited for disaggregated and intersectional analyses (189,399,(433)(434)(435)(436)(437)(438)(439)(440).…”

“…This reduces heterogeneous groups of individuals to the single dimension they share, obscuring the ways in which the variation observed may derive from other aspects of identity and experience. There is a growing literature on how to apply intersectional approaches in equity-focused research, which emphasises the need to carefully consider the classification of lived experiences into categories for quantitative study, sampling for intersectional analysis, and greater use of qualitative methods and other approaches capable of capturing the social construction of identities and emergent processes through which they manifest and change (437)(438)(439)(470)(471)(472)(473)(474). Studies going forward need to embrace these recommendations in their design to generate new evidence.…”

Contact and control: Engagement and influence among women of color state agency heads

“…Such studies demonstrate how the societal dominance of White, heterosexual U.S. men has sustained the oppression and leadership experiences of those with intersecting identities (Sanchez‐Hucles & Davis, 2010). Recently scholars have not only begun to look at the manner in which discriminatory barriers such as gender can affect this representation (Carbajal, 2018; Eagly & Chin, 2010; Keiser et al, 2002; Shields, 2008; Williams & Tiedens, 2016), but specifically, at how an intersectionality framework can be utilized to study both the demographic representativeness and distinct experiences of underrepresented groups in leadership (Brooks, 2012; Curtis, 2017; Gamble, 2010; Hughes, 2011; Hughes, 2015; Jean‐Marie et al, 2009; Pandey et al, 2022; Parker, 2001; Sanchez‐Hucles & Davis, 2010; Whitebread et al, 2023). As stated, historically the stereotypical bureaucrat was a White man, so being an individual of “visible demographic minority status is likely to increase in salience due to the White masculine hegemony at the top” (Atewologun, 2014, p. 279) of the administrative hierarchy.…”