Practitioner Points• Representative bureaucracy can promote diversity within government organizations and, more broadly, social equity throughout the nation.• Bureaucracies that are representative of the people they serve can enhance citizens' trust in government and foster the achievement of democratic goals.• Through its effects on legitimacy and trust, representativeness can influence the extent to which clients and citizens cooperate and comply with government, thus coproducing important policy outcomes.• Increasing the representation of women and people of color in government can promote bureaucratic accountability.