Representation, Diversity, and Organizational Performance: A Theoretical and Empirical Exploration in the Context of South African Local Government

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231162543
• Author: Sergio Fernandez,Robert Cameron,Hongseok Lee
• Date: 01 July 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231162543

Administration & Society

2023, Vol. 55(6) 1066 –1092

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/00953997231162543

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Article

Representation,

Diversity, and

Organizational

Performance: A

Theoretical and

Empirical Exploration

in the Context of

South African Local

Government

Sergio Fernandez1,2 , Robert Cameron3,

and Hongseok Lee4

Abstract

Representative bureaucracy and workforce diversity have become central

topics in the field of public administration. Although representation and

diversity are distinct concepts, public administration researchers often

conflate them. This study seeks to provide analytical clarity by outlining and

comparing the various conceptual definitions of representation and diversity.

We also explain the causal logic of how representation and diversity influence

organizational performance. Finally, with South African local government

as the research setting, we examine the empirical relationship between

1Indiana University-Bloomington, USA

2University of Pretoria, South Africa

3University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, South Africa

4University at Albany, NY, USA

Corresponding Author:

Sergio Fernandez, O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University-

Bloomington, SPEA 449, 1315 E. 10 Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.

Email: sefernan@indiana.edu

1162543AAS0010.1177/00953997231162543Administration & SocietyFernandez et al.

research-article2023

Fernandez et al. 1067

these two concepts and explore how different forms of representation and

diversity are related to organizational performance.

Keywords

representative bureaucracy, diversity, performance

Interest in the social identity of public employees has grown substantially

among policymakers and researchers. In response to demographic changes

and calls for employment equity and good governance, governments through-

out the world have taken deliberate measures to alter the demographics of

public organizations to make them more representative, diverse, and inclusive.

Studies of representative bureaucracy and workforce diversity show beyond

its symbolic significance (Mosher, 1968), the demographic composition of

public organizations has a major influence on the behavior and attitudes of

public employees and citizens as well as on public sector performance (Ding

et al., 2021; Kennedy, 2014; Meier, 2019; Pitts & Recascino Wise, 2010).

A variety of terms arise in research on the demographics of public organi-

zations, with representation (or representative bureaucracy) and diversity fig-

uring prominently in the literature. Representation and diversity are distinct

concepts with different consequences for public organizations. However, a

fair amount of confusion remains as to their meaning, prompting calls for

greater clarity in discussions of organizational demography (Gazley et al.,

2010; Pitts & Recascino Wise, 2010; Gooden & Portillo, 2011). Some who

study the concept of representative bureaucracy use the terms representation

and diversity interchangeably (e.g., Bradbury & Kellough, 2011; Hong, 2016;

Riccucci et al., 2014; Rocha & Hawes, 2009; Turgeon & Gagnon, 2013). The

situation becomes even more muddled when researchers conflate or mix up

the concepts of representation (or representative bureaucracy) and diversity.

Selden (1997), Andrews et al. (2014), and Grissom et al. (2015) state represen-

tative bureaucracies are more diverse in their composition because they reflect

a diverse population. They seem to overlook that representative bureaucracies

can be homogenous instead of diverse in countries where a single racial or

ethnic group constitutes a large majority of the population (e.g., Japan,

Germany, and South Africa). Whether a representative bureaucracy is also a

diverse one, therefore, depends on the composition of the population. Finally,

Pitts and Recascino Wise (2010) and Weisinger et al. (2016), in their reviews

of research on diversity in public and nonprofit organizations, respectively,

find researchers often use measures of racial, ethnic, and gender representa-

tion rather than of variety or heterogeneity when analyzing the concept of

diversity.