Quantitative intersectionality: Imperatives and opportunities for advancing social equity

• Published date: 01 January 2023
• Author: Geoffrey Whitebread,Stephanie Dolamore,Brendan Stern
• Date: 01 January 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13555

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Quantitative intersectionality: Imperatives and opportunities

for advancing social equity

Geoffrey Whitebread | Stephanie Dolamore | Brendan Stern

Department of Public Affairs, Gallaudet

University, Washington, DC, USA

Correspondence

Geoffrey Whitebread, Department of Public

Affairs, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC,

USA.

Email: geoffrey.whitebread@gallaudet.edu

Abstract

Social equity is a pillar of public administration (PA), yet its actualization remains

elusive. The path forward to closing persistent social equity gaps requires the utili-

zation of quantitative intersectionality in PA. This article explores the literature

related to quantitative intersectionality and the imperative for use in the scholar-

ship and practices of PA. To exemplify this concept in practice, we present a case

study examining Vocational Rehabilitation performance data reports. Findings

illustrate how quantitative intersectionality provides an opportunity to unpack

overlapping identities for people with disabilities whose individual characteristics

include historically oppressed race/ethnicity and gender identities. Findings assert

the imperative for using quantitative intersectionality to achieve social equity

for all.

Evidence for practice

•Quantitative intersectionality is a tool that offers a more complete picture of the

impact and limitations of program activities.

•Decreasing persistent social inequities requires utilizing principles of quantita-

tive intersectionality to reflect the complexity of identities and oppression in

public administration.

•Some practitioners may be concerned about privacy when performing intersec-

tional analysis, but there are a variety of methods that can be used while also

protecting individual privacy.

•Quantitative intersectionality does not require a unique set of technical skills but

rather a commitment to implementation.

INTRODUCTION

Across the field of public administration (PA), social equity

is solidifying a consistent presence in research, teaching,

policy, and programming of the public sector (Blessett

et al. 2019; Gooden 2015; Guy and McCandless 2012;

McCandless and Larson 2018). Social equity involves fair-

ness and equal treatment in service provision, outcomes,

and allocation of resources, as well as thoughtful action

for the redistribution of resources to adjust for historical

oppression (Norman-Major, 2011). Although the concep-

tual presence of social equity is far from a perfect mea-

sure of acceptance or praxis, it does signal that social

equity, as an administrative value, holds critical impor-

tance for our discipline. This should not surprise, given

how Gooden describes social equity as the theoretical

and practical recognition of “the historical, political, social,

and economic influences that structurally influence pros-

pects for access, opportunity, and outcomes”(2017,

p. 373). Similarly, Guy and McCandless (2020) describe

social equity as a moral imperative that demands fairness

in public services in regard to “access, process, quality,

and outcomes”(p. 1). What, then, are the aspects of PA

beyond the reach of social equity? The answer: There are

hardly any domains where social equity is not conceptu-

ally, empirically, or practically relevant.

PA scholarship has traditionally focused on race/eth-

nicity, gender, or socioeconomic class as distinct catego-

ries for analysis (Hamidullah and Riccucci 2017;A.E.

Smith et al. 2020). Relying on distinct categories, as

opposed to exploring how race/ethnicity and gender or

race/ethnicity and class, results in analyses that fail to rec-

ognize the “unique experiences and opportunities”of

people with intersecting identities that necessitates the

Received: 21 February 2021 Revised: 23 June 2022 Accepted: 1 July 2022

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13555

Public Admin Rev. 2023;83:117–129. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/puar © 2022 American Society for Public Administration. 117