Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration

Intersectional Representation Among Employees in U.S. School Districts

Melissa Taylor

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Larra Rucker

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8348-9902

Valerie Hunt

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2079-5029

Brinck Kerr

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8491-7546

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jsepa.v3i2.6124

Keywords: bureaucratic representation, social equity, equal employment opportunity, intersectional representation, school district size

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Abstract

We use U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission data to perform a social equity audit of the U.S. public school workforce by measuring levels of underrepresentation and overrepresentation in public school employment categories (classroom teachers, assistant principals, principals, and administrators) among intersectional demographic groups—Black, Hispanic, White, women, and men. We examine all U.S. public school districts between 2002 and 2014 (N = 4,252 districts) and find variation in bureaucratic representation across and within gender-race/ethnicity and by job category, relative to gender-racial/ethnic proportion in the district community. Overall, Black and Hispanic women and men are underrepresented in all leadership positions and as classroom teachers. We find schools and school district leaders are not proportionally representative when compared to the teachers they supervise. Furthermore, large numbers of school districts employ no Black or Hispanic women or men in leadership positions. Progress is needed to achieve representation by gender-race/ethnicity in the public education workforce.

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Author Biographies

Melissa Taylor, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Melissa Taylor (she/her) (mt015@uark.edu) is a recent graduate of the Public Policy PhD program at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Her primary areas of interest include bureaucratic representation and the effects of public policies on inequality, educational attainment, and economic mobility.

Larra Rucker, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Larra Rucker is a Research Associate at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Her research focuses on public-sector representation and childcare policy. Her work has appeared in such journals as Administration & Society, Public Personnel Management, and the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education.

Valerie Hunt, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Valerie Hunt is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of the Public Policy Ph.D. Program at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Her research on bureaucratic representation, intersectionality, and public policy appears in social science and public administration journals.

Brinck Kerr, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Brinck Kerr (he/him) (jbkerr@uark.edu) is a University Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He has served as Director of the interdisciplinary Public Policy Ph.D. Program since 2007. His research appears in several key political science, public policy, and public administration journals.

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