Identity and Intersectionality in Public Administration: A Layered and Integrated Framework

Intersectionality is increasingly adopted in public administration research. Yet, existing applications tend to narrow identity to static demographic characteristics and overlook how the administrative state itself generates, activates, and shapes identities. We address this gap with a theoretical framework that maps identity generation across macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of analysis. Our framework expands the inventory of identities relevant to intersectionality research in public administration to include those produced by political, societal, and organizational processes, and it advances the concept of “dyadic intersectionality” to capture the simultaneous interplay of bureaucratic and client identities during administrative encounters.