This article presents a “Call to Action” Social Equity Manifesto developed at the Minnowbrook at 50 conference. The Social Equity Manifesto identifies several critical areas of emphasis that can help move toward the achievement of social equity in the research, teaching, and practice of public administration. Regarding research, we discuss the presence of social equity manuscripts in PAR, JPART, and ATP. Interestingly, the coverage of class inequality is low across all three journals. However, a clear research strength is the plurality of methodological and theoretical approaches. In terms of teaching, all of the NASPAA social equity award winning public affairs programs in the United States offer multiple courses that provide intentional coverage of social equity. With respect to practice in the United States, inequities exist across multiple policy areas. Programs and policies ranging from nondiscrimination to diversity management are discussed. In essence, exposing students to social equity perspectives within the context of public administration curricula can make PA graduates more responsive to the needs of all people.
A bureaucracy that is representative of the public it serves-passive representation-can result in both active representation and symbolic representation. Symbolic representation occurs when passive representation improves perceptions of legitimacy and enhances bureaucratic outcomes because the public is more cooperative and more likely to engage in coproduction. We present a new micro-theory of symbolic representation to show that symbolic benefits of passive representation depend on some level of positive treatment by bureaucrats. We then illustrate the utility of this theory with qualitative interviews from two cities with large populations of people of color and high proportions of police officers of color. The results suggest that increasing the demographic representativeness of the bureaucracy may be a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for improving the relationship between the public and the bureaucracy. Practitioner Points• Personal, familial, or vicarious encounters with the police influence the public's perceptions of police officers.• The public recognizes the need for increased racial representation in policing; however, officers' attitudes and actions toward the public are more salient for shaping the public's perceptions of police. • Without benign treatment by bureaucrats, symbolic representation can be stymied and even result in no benefits or potentially negative effects for the public.
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.
Representative bureaucracy research has examined the influence of race and ethnicity on policing outcomes, yet little is known about police use of force specifically at the individual-level. To address this topic more meticulously, we utilize individual-level data (from Indianapolis and Dallas police departments) to explore differences in the amount of force used by officers in ethnic, racial, and gender matches in police–civilian dyads. Findings suggest that there are heightened levels of force used when there is racial and gender incongruenc between the officer and the civilian, particularly White officers interacting with Black civilians. We discuss how this finding may impact police departments moving forward.
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