Representative Bureaucracy

• Date: 01 March 2013
• Published date: 01 March 2013
• Author: Ronald C. Clark,Holona LeAnne Ochs,Michael Frazier
• DOI: 10.1177/0091026013484570
• Subject Matter: Articles

Public Personnel Management

42(1) 75 –89

© The Author(s) 2013

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DOI: 10.1177/0091026013484570

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Article

Representative Bureaucracy:

The Politics of Access to

Policy-Making Positions in the

Federal Executive Service

Ronald C. Clark Jr.1, Holona LeAnne Ochs2, and

Michael Frazier3

Abstract

Does the bureaucracy represent the interests of the public or react to the partisan

and ideological demands of political principals? This study uses data from the federal

workforce reports and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Central Personnel

Data File to demonstrate that partisanship and ideology influence the demographic

composition of the federal senior executives. The analysis indicates that fluctuation

between administrations is largely attributed to presidents nominating and appointing

individuals who share similar ideological views. The analysis also suggests that political

control by ideologically driven principals has the potential to perpetuate divisiveness

over polarizing issues. The partisan and ideological influences that continue to

influence access to policy-making positions contribute to the perpetuation of

patterned disparities in the representation of interests and undermine government

performance.

Keywords

representative bureaucracy, Senior Executive Service (SES), diversity, race, gender

Introduction

Demographic shifts during the last two decades in the U.S. population have led to

increased racial and ethnic diversity in America’s labor force. The U.S. Census Bureau

(2008) estimated that people of color will become the demographic majority in 2042

1Capella University, Minneapolis, MN

2Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA

3Howard University, Washington, DC, USA

Corresponding Author:

Ronald C. Clark Jr., 13510 Bermingham Manor Drive, Laurel, MD 20708, USA.

Email: Ronald.Clark@capella.edu

484570PPM42110.1177/0091026013484570Public Personnel ManagementClark et al.

research-article2013