Intersectionality in Public Leadership Research: A Review and Future Research Agenda

• Author: Sheela Pandey,Norma M. Riccucci,Rachel A. Breslin
• Published date: 01 June 2017
• Date: 01 June 2017
• DOI: 10.1177/0734371X17697118
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X17697118

Review of Public Personnel Administration

2017, Vol. 37(2) 160 –182

© The Author(s) 2017

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DOI: 10.1177/0734371X17697118

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Article

Intersectionality in Public

Leadership Research:

A Review and Future

Research Agenda

Rachel A. Breslin1, Sheela Pandey2,

and Norma M. Riccucci3

Abstract

Intersectionality provides a critical analytic lens for expanding our knowledge

of leadership in public organizations as well as highlighting barriers to leadership

opportunities. By emphasizing multiple and simultaneous dimensions of social

inequality—most commonly gender, race, class, and sexuality—intersectionality

reveals the unique experiences of individuals who occupy multiple marginalized social

categories. We reviewed literature on public leadership spanning the past 25 years

to obtain a sense of whether and how scholars in public administration currently

interpret and apply an intersectional perspective to leadership inquiries. We find

that a majority of the research we reviewed relied upon a single dimension of social

inequality—gender. We identify the contributions made by research that did apply

intersectionality’s core concepts as well as the missed opportunities by neglecting it

as an analytic tool. We conclude with an agenda for future research that includes a

discussion of intersectionality’s methodological challenges and recommendations for

overcoming those challenges.

Keywords

public leadership, intersectionality, gender and public personnel administration, race,

methodological issues

1The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

2Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, PA, USA

3Rutgers University–Newark, NJ, USA

Corresponding Author:

Rachel A. Breslin, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration, The George Washington

University, 805 21st St. NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.

Email: rbreslin@gwu.edu

697118ROPXXX10.1177/0734371X17697118Review of Public Personnel AdministrationBreslin et al.

research-article2017

Breslin et al. 161

Introduction

Intersectionality provides a critical analytic lens for expanding our knowledge of lead-

ership in public organizations as well as highlighting barriers to leadership opportuni-

ties. By emphasizing multiple and simultaneous dimensions of social inequality—most

commonly gender, race, class, and sexuality—intersectionality reveals the unique

experiences of individuals who occupy multiple marginalized social categories.

However, several factors have limited the application of intersectionality in leadership

research; first, a lack of clarity regarding what intersectionality is or the value in its

application; and, second, a preference for simplified and one-dimensional constructs

that are easier to interpret and for which data are easier to obtain.

Research on leadership in public organizations has examined how leaders influence

specific outcomes such as organizational performance, the implementation of govern-

ment reforms, or the ability to effectively manage networks (Chapman et al., 2016;

Getha-Taylor, Holmes, Jacobson, Morse, & Sowa, 2011; Van Wart, 2003, 2013). In

addition, studies have examined the influence of diversity in public leadership by

exploring how differences in demographic traits—most commonly gender—influence

leader values, leadership styles, and upward mobility (Beaty & Davis, 2012; Dolan,

2004; Feeney & Langer, 2016; Hamidullah, Riccucci, & Pandey, 2015; Jacobson,

Palus, & Bowling, 2010; Johansen, 2007; Meier, O’Toole, & Goerdel, 2006; Smith &

Monaghan, 2013). Although not explicitly focusing on leadership, representative

bureaucracy studies have highlighted why diversity in public leadership is important.

To the extent that minority groups possess discretionary authority, either as leaders or

street-level bureaucrats, they can make a difference in terms of policy outcomes that

benefit the groups they represent (Atkins & Wilkins, 2013; Keiser, Wilkins, Meier, &

Holland, 2002; Wilkins, 2007; Wilkins & Keiser, 2006). Importantly, however, while

scholars have examined differences, for example, between men and women’s leader-

ship, they have rarely applied intersectional approaches to consider differences among

women (Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010).

To foster greater use of an intersectional lens in leadership research, we consider

the following questions: (a) What is intersectionality? (b) How can an intersectional

framework refine our knowledge of diversity of leadership in public organizations? (c)

What are the methodological challenges associated with such a framework? (d) How

can we address those challenges? To answer these questions, we conducted a broad

cross-disciplinary review of literature on intersectionality. Next, we reviewed litera-

ture on public leadership spanning the past 25 years to obtain a sense of whether and

how scholars in public administration currently interpret and apply an intersectional

perspective to leadership inquiries. As expected, a majority of the research we reviewed

focused on a single dimension of social inequality. This is a concern because it creates

the false sense that—for example—all women share the same challenges, barriers, and

opportunities. Moreover, it undermines our ability to discern the extent to which spe-

cific groups of women are represented in public leadership. By ignoring the differ-

ences among women, we contribute to a false dichotomy based on differences between

men and women.