Race and Gender Representation in Presidential Appointments, SES, and GS Levels, During Clinton, Bush, and Obama Administrations

Achieving a representative bureaucracy that reflects the attitudes, values, and policy choices of women and racial minorities is imperative, as the gap in the representation of those groups in the federal workforce is growing. We examine to what extent female and minority representation in political appointments, Senior Executive Service (SES), and General Schedule (GS) 1-15 levels reflect presidents’ commitment to diversity. We use data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to compare the tenures of presidents William J. Clinton (1993 to 2000), George W. Bush (2001-2008), and Barack H. Obama (2009-2013), and examine the employment trends from 1993 to 2013.

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Trends and Gaps: A Meta-Review of Representative Bureaucracy

Review of Public Personnel Administration ◽

10.1177/0734371x19830154 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 559-588 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sebawit G. Bishu ◽

Alexis R. Kennedy

Keyword(s):

Theoretical Framework ◽

Demographic Characteristics ◽

Representative Bureaucracy ◽

Policy Outcomes ◽

Journal Articles ◽

Race And Gender ◽

Active Representation ◽

Meta Review ◽

And Gender ◽

Over Time

The representative bureaucracy theoretical framework explores the link between bureaucrats’ social and demographic characteristics and their likelihood to take actions that benefit citizens with whom they share identities. This meta-review analyzes 96 peer-reviewed representative bureaucracy journal articles to explore how the theoretical framework is described and applied and to track the contextual development of representative bureaucracy over time. Despite how far the field has come in connecting bureaucratic identity to normative policy outcomes, we find that the application of the theoretical framework is operationalized using a narrow set of shared identities (race and gender). In addition, we conclude that representative bureaucracy has been applied in limited geographic, methodological, and policy areas. Our article argues that the absence of studies that focus on intersectional identities, different geographic and policy contexts, and more qualitative and mixed methods impedes our understanding of the link between passive and active representation.

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Referral Patterns for Youths Identified at Risk for Suicide by Trained Gatekeepers

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000114 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 113-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Michael S. Rodi ◽

Lucas Godoy Garraza ◽

Christine Walrath ◽

Robert L. Stephens ◽

D. Susanne Condron ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Suicide Prevention ◽

Demographic Characteristics ◽

Service Access ◽

Referral Patterns ◽

Race And Gender ◽

Lee Smith ◽

Prevention Behavior ◽

Key Variables ◽

And Gender ◽

To Receive

Background: In order to better understand the posttraining suicide prevention behavior of gatekeeper trainees, the present article examines the referral and service receipt patterns among gatekeeper-identified youths. Methods: Data for this study were drawn from 26 Garrett Lee Smith grantees funded between October 2005 and October 2009 who submitted data about the number, characteristics, and service access of identified youths. Results: The demographic characteristics of identified youths are not related to referral type or receipt. Furthermore, referral setting does not seem to be predictive of the type of referral. Demographic as well as other (nonrisk) characteristics of the youths are not key variables in determining identification or service receipt. Limitations: These data are not necessarily representative of all youths identified by gatekeepers represented in the dataset. The prevalence of risk among all members of the communities from which these data are drawn is unknown. Furthermore, these data likely disproportionately represent gatekeepers associated with systems that effectively track gatekeepers and youths. Conclusions: Gatekeepers appear to be identifying youth across settings, and those youths are being referred for services without regard for race and gender or the settings in which they are identified. Furthermore, youths that may be at highest risk may be more likely to receive those services.

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