Beyond the Turtle Approach: Women in the Public Sector

• Published date: 01 November 2020
• Author: Sue M. Neal,Michelle R. Gherardi,Amanda M. Olejarski
• Date: 01 November 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13198

1118 Public Administration Review • No vember | D ecember 2 020

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 80, Iss. 6, pp. 1118–1122. © 2020 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13198.

Sue M. Neal

Michelle R. Gherardi

Amanda M. Olejarski

West Chester University

Beyond the Turtle Approach: Women in the Public Sector

Abstract: Equity issues persist in defining public sector women as in need of accommodation, including during

times of child-rearing or caregiving. The authors argue instead that viewing the fullness of a woman’s existence

should empower others to see broad life experiences as a benefit to be fostered. Public service organizations and the

academy should build policies and systems that recognize this value and work to cultivate, rather than accommodate.

While women have historically taken the turtle approach—that is, keep your head down—the #MeToo movement

has morphed women into strong bison, standing shoulder to shoulder. The authors advocate for more inclusive and

supportive mentoring relationships to move into a new era—the pigeon era. In public administration, this manifests as

providing holistic support and intentional mentorships throughout the arc of women’s careers and institutional policy

changes that support the unique value of women in the public sector and the academy.

Evidence for Practice

• Public sector organizations should institute policy changes that recognize the broad life experiences of

women as something to celebrate, not something to accommodate.

• Leadership appointments based on the multidimensionality of skills will better position the public sector to

respond to the full spectrum of public needs.

• Instituting intentional humanistic mentorship opportunities across career trajectories will serve to shift

dysfunctional paradigms instead of reinforcing them.

The #MeToo movement thrust a variety

of gender-based equity issues into the

mainstream conversation. In one year, the

#MeToo hashtag was used more than 19 million times

on Twitter (Anderson and Toor 2018). Academia

and the public sector certainly did not escape that

scrutiny—one database of substantiated claims of

sexual misconduct and relationship policy violations

in academia now boasts more than 700 entries

(Geocognition Research Laboratory 2019). This is

further exemplified by the expanding number of

Twitter hashtags relating specifically to MeToo in

academia (#MeTooSTEM, #MeToo_Academia,

#MeTooPhD). Now that these issues have been

placed on the agenda, it is critical to reflect on the

past experiences of public sector women while actively

envisioning and discussing the future to shape it in

a way that catapults gender equity to the next level

(Gerstein 2019; Graves, Burke, and Stevens 2017).

This is accomplished by defining a series of eras that

contextualize the broad experience of women in

the public administration field within the academy.

The goal is to allow for reflection on how this

transformation has evolved, to see the value that has

come from each of the eras, and to capitalize on the

discussions that #MeToo has initiated to advance a

conversation on what the next era may look like.

Acknowledging barriers is just the beginning, and

concerted efforts will be needed to advance women

in public administration (D’Agostino 2017). We

contend that this is the time to recognize and embrace

the broad life experiences that women bring to public

administration—life experiences that provide the

depth of understanding and empathy requisite to

design the future of public service and to formulate

solutions to the complex issues confronting the

profession.

This focus on recognizing and embracing women’s

life experiences and what they bring to the field of

public administration is exemplified by the #MeToo

movement. Gender equity and empowerment have

been discussed in public administration for decades,

as studied by Gooden (2015); however, the paucity

of relevant research is starting to take on a more

central role in scholarship (e.g., see the work of

Andersen and Hjortskov 2016; Jensen and Pederson

2017; Nielsen 2014; Sabharwal 2013a, 2013b).

Public Administration Review has published a number

Amanda Olejarski is the MPA director

at West Chester University. Her research

interests include administrative discretion

and communication. Her research has been

published in numerous public administration

journals, and she has written two books

on ethical decision-making. She is editor of

Public Integrity

and serves as president of

the Keystone State Chapter of the American

Society for Public Administration and chair

of NASPAA’s Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society

Governance Committee.

Email: amolejarski@wcupa.edu

Michelle R. Gherardi received her

MPA from West Chester University, where

she is currently a doctoral student. As a

nontraditional undergraduate at Harvard

University’s Extension School, Michelle was

a human rights research assistant analyzing

child labor laws for a corporate social

responsibility database and completed

independent research on rehabilitating and

reintegrating former child soldiers using

restorative justice practices. She lectures on

human trafficking and focuses her doctoral

research on maternal activism and policies

that impact motherhood.

Email: mg263276@wcupa.edu

Sue M. Neal is a doctoral candidate at

West Chester University. She holds an

MPA from Arkansas State University and

is an instructor in the Political Science

Department there. She has more than

20 years of experience as an executive

director and works as a research consultant

in animal welfare. Sue was a caregiver

to her paraplegic mother for more than

16 years, and this experience informs her

outlook on issues of ableism and inclusion.

Email: sn918363@wcupa.edu

Viewpoint

Symposium:

Implications

of the #MeToo

Movement for

Academia