Abstract
In the book Women in Public Administration: Theory and Practice, editors Maria J. D’Agostino and Helisse Levine provide a wide-ranging approach to the theory and practice of public administration from a gendered perspective. This edited volume is a collection of narratives, theoretical essays, and empirical research that informs students, scholars, and practitioners in understanding the eclectic issues surrounding a gendered approach to public administration. The overarching question examined by each of the contributors is to what extent the administrative state recognizes that the legitimacy problem of public administration extends beyond the political versus administrative dichotomy and encompasses a gendered dimension.
The book is organized into five parts. Part I provides theoretical foundations for women in public administration. Contributors Janet Hutchinson, Patricia Shields, and Helisse Levine critically examine the applicability of existing feminist theories to the theory and practice of public administration. Hutchinson argues and advises for the need to view feminism not as separate or a merely contributing part of the general body of public administration, but as intrinsic to public administration and its future. Shields emphasizes that democracy exists in many forms—political, social, and economic. She examines Jane Addams’s conceptualization of ethical social democracy and its implications for public administration theory. According to Shields, Jane Addams advances our understanding of Frederick Mosher’s (1968) enduring question of “How can public service be made to operate in a manner compatible with democracy?” from a feminist standpoint (p. 17). The conscious application of Addams’s feminist ethical social democracy complements Mosher’s political democracy and guides us on the question of how we as public administrators “should treat/care for each other and the citizens we serve” (p. 31).
Levine emphasizes the importance of the theory of difference in defining women’s role in public administration. Levine notes the existence of tensions between cultural imperialism of the Western ideals of women’s equality and the difference theory which exalts the differences in women rather than compromising them in the process of “equalization” (p. 35). Several feminists, particularly, the Third World feminists, have challenged the universal woman model. Levine argues for a feminism of difference which values national, linguistic, religious, and cultural differences as an important starting point for feminist political theory.
In Part II, the book transitions from feminist theoretical foundations of public administration to delve into structural barriers inhibiting gender equity in public sector organizations. More particularly, Part II focuses on role of family-friendly human resource policies in creating gender equity. Using empirical evidence, Wyatt-Nichol highlights how the gendered nature of public administration, the existing structural inequities, and the lack of family-friendly policies inhibit qualified women’s participation and growth in academia. The author also examines the importance of family-friendly policies to overcome these systemic barriers.
Sabharwal examines the role of women and their status in academic institutions. She finds that in the field of Public Administration and Policy, when compared with their male counterparts, women faculty members are employed at higher rates in research universities and have similar levels of research productivity. However, women are less likely to receive tenure or occupy supervisory and leadership positions, and more likely to receive lower levels of compensation than their male counterparts. Sabharwal emphasizes the need for further research to investigate whether these gender differences are a result of a gap in pipeline or due to systematic discrimination.
Andersen provides an international perspective on family-friendly policies in context of Danish research institutions. More specifically, Andersen examines the role of gender diversity (i.e., more women) and family-friendly policies (particularly, child care facilities) in improving organizational performance. Anderson argues that in addition to individual-level performances, there is a need to include organizational performance measures to explore the importance of women’s relational competences and their potential in public administration. Performance measures need to be expanded to represent both male and female competencies.
Mastracci highlights the (un)intended consequences of family-friendly policies in upholding the traditional gendered division of labor and the deeply entrenched gendered processes in the workplace. Mastracci discusses several policies and practices that go beyond mandatory requirements of law to address gender inequity. These include supportive culture, performance evaluations that go beyond traditional expectations, and need for organizational reforms. Finally, as compared with the private sector, Mastracci empirically examined federal government’s success in addressing the challenges posed by deep-rooted gendered processes in workplace.
Part III explores the topic of “Diversity, Ethics, and Law.” Peffer sheds light on the legal frameworks underlying gender equality. She documents various statutory and constitutional legal provisions that protect equal rights of women. Peffer describes decades of legal struggles spearheaded by American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Women’s Right Project and the contributions of then Columbia Law Professor and present Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, toward achieving the goal of gender equity in all spheres of the society.
Abney focuses on the challenges and opportunities for minority women in public administration. The chapter highlights minority women’s contributions to the field of public administration and the impact of their leadership on people irrespective of their income level, religion, race, or gender. Followed by Abney, Leuenberger argues that women, particularly, women in developing countries, bear disproportionate burden of environmental crisis. Leuenberger ties together issues of gender and sustainable development and emphasizes the need to concentrate on sustainability issues within public administration. She reinforces the expanding role of women in development and that it should be valued as an opportunity for public administration to address issues of social, economic, and environmental inequity and injustice.
Rubin and Bartle focus on the evolving role of women in government budgeting and financial management. Their analysis is based on women’s contributions to scholarship and research as well as their roles as practitioners and leaders in the field. They also focus on growing participation of women in professional organizations and role of women in promoting the concept and use of gender budgets. The overall evidence indicates that despite persistence of the historical gender gap between women and men, the participation and contributions of women in government budgeting and finance has increased over time.
Part IV documents the issues and obstacles for female practitioners and female managers in public administration. Gordon builds on Ellickson and Logsdon’s (2001) model to investigate factors influencing job satisfaction of municipal clerks who are predominantly females in the U.S. context.
Maraeschal documents the historical developments that led to women’s entry into trade unions and their rise as union activists and leaders. She reflects on the sociopolitical crisis that led to alliance between women in public service and the labor movement. Using interviews with three female public sector union leaders, Maraeschal details the obstacles that continue to lie ahead and highlights the strategies used by women to become active members of public unions and break the glass ceilings to enter leadership positions.
Reinke and Miller highlight the struggles and achievements of women in the U.S. military which represents a distinctly masculine environment. The authors describe the history of women in the U.S. military and subsequently examine contemporary problems faced by women in military particularly with respect to professional opportunities, sexual harassment and assault, and family issues. And Peters critically evaluates the progress made in creating a pipeline for women’s leadership in government. She discusses several shortcomings of the pipeline that was theorized to amend the gender gap. These shortcomings include lack of attention paid to unique needs of women, insufficient mentoring and training, lack of strong leadership succession, and the treatment of diversity issues as problems distinct to underrepresented groups rather than a problem for all employees.
Charles and Brunn utilize quantitative analysis of data from National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) and qualitative interviews to argue that women’s gains in terms of numerical strength in graduate student population gradually declines as they climb up the academic ladder with their first jobs, tenure, and senior positions. While highlighting the areas of parity, they also discuss contemporary challenges faced by women in public affairs and the way forward.
In the last three chapters of Part IV, Kloby, Rusaw, and Nank provide perspectives of female managers working in senior positions within public and nonprofits programs. The descriptive essays by Kloby and Rusaw are based on in-depth interviews with female leaders and focus on their challenges, professional contributions, leadership and management styles, negotiation styles, the impact of their gender on their career paths, and their advice for new professionals. They also provide perspectives on strategies used by female managers to navigate the negative organizational politics that hinders their career advancements. Nank examines the nature of nonprofit organization’s work from a feminist viewpoint and discusses the opportunities that lie ahead of women desiring to assume leadership roles in nonprofits.
In Part V, the final section of this edited volume, Guy uses examples of Former First Ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama to examine how traditional images about gender in public minds create obstacles for women to assume autonomous power. Guy argues for the need and the challenge of women to find a middle ground between being perceived as preachy, screechy, and angry versus being soft, sweet, and compliant. Finally, editors D’Agostino and Levine conclude the book by reflecting on the philosophical purpose and the overarching goals achieved through the contributions made to the edited volume.
In her foreword, rightfully Stivers recognizes this book as a ground-breaking resource for any person who cares about public service. Indeed, the book offers a thought-provoking compilation of essays covering broad array of topics on women in public administration from a theoretical, an empirical, and a practical standpoint. The knowledge and experience of each contributor, whether in research or practice, is reflected in each of the writings. Overall, the book Women in Public Administration: Theory and Practice is an outstanding examination and reflection on gender issues in public administration and will help readers develop a nuanced perspective of historical and contemporary issues surrounding women in public service.