Ensuring Social Equity in Public Administration

1. Ensuring Social Equity in
Public Administration

2. What is Social Equity?
▪ Social equity is fairness in the delivery of
public services; It is egalitarianism in action –
the principle that each citizen regardless of
economic resources or personal traits
deserves and has a right to be given equal
treatment by the political system.

3. Access
(Distributional Equity)
Social Equity
Quality
(Process Equity)
Outcome
Procedural Fairness
(Due Process)
• Does the organization employ fair and equitable processes to acquire a diverse, highly
skilled workforce?
• Are processes for career development, advancement, awards, and recognition equitable?
• Are there processes to ensure appropriate information sharing among internal and
external partners?
• Do budget allocations reflect a commitment to fair results among all stakeholders?
• Does the organization examine its outcomes in a manner that would permit it to identify
inequities?
• Are targeted interventions and other corrective actions taken to correct identified
inequities?
• Does the organization employ a culturally competent workforce capable of delivering
services in a multicultural manner?
• Is the quality of service comparable for all stakeholders?
• Is the level, frequency, duration, etc. of service appropriate for specific
stakeholders?
• Does the organization gather and analyze data, conduct periodic reviews,
examine service delivery metrics, and so forth to identify service delivery
deficiencies?
• Does the organization undertake reviews and evaluations to determine
whether its processes have disparate or adverse impact upon a group of
stakeholders?
• Does the organization take action to address identified deficiencies and/or
disparate or adverse impact?
• Does the organization collect and analyze data that would permit it to identify
disproportionate results?
• Does the organization examine causes of identified disparities?
• Does the organization take action to improve such disparities?
Dimension OutcomeGuiding Questions
Ensures the absence of disparities in
processes, equal access, and procedural
activities
Ensures consistent quality of service to all
stakeholders
Ensures that appropriate allocations of
resources are made so that fair results are
realized by all stakeholders
Ensures equal protection and due process
in personnel actions and business and
operational dealings

4. Access
(Distributional
Equity)
Social Equity
Quality
(Process Equity)
Outcome
Procedural
Fairness
(Due Process)
• Does the organization employ fair and equitable processes to
acquire a diverse, highly skilled workforce?
• Are processes for career development, advancement, awards,
and recognition equitable?
• Are there processes to ensure appropriate information
sharing among internal and external partners?
• Do budget allocations reflect a commitment to fair results
among all stakeholders?
• Does the organization examine its outcomes in a manner that
would permit it to identify inequities?
• Are targeted interventions and other corrective actions taken
to correct identified inequities?
• Does the organization employ a culturally competent
workforce capable of delivering services in a multicultural
manner?
• Is the quality of service comparable for all stakeholders?
• Is the level, frequency, duration, etc. of service appropriate for
specific stakeholders?
• Does the organization gather and analyze data, conduct
periodic reviews, examine service delivery metrics, and so
forth to identify service delivery deficiencies?
• Does the organization undertake reviews and evaluations to
determine whether its processes have disparate or adverse
impact upon a group of stakeholders?
• Does the organization take action to address identified
deficiencies and/or disparate or adverse impact?
• Does the organization collect and analyze data that would
permit it to identify disproportionate results?
• Does the organization examine causes of identified
disparities?
• Does the organization take action to improve such disparities?
Dimension Associated OutcomeGuiding Questions for Analysis
Ensures the absence of
disparities in processes, equal
access, and procedural
activities
Ensures consistent quality of
service to all stakeholders
Ensures that appropriate
allocations of resources are
made so that fair results are
realized by all stakeholders
Ensures equal protection and
due process in personnel
actions and business and
operational dealings

5. The New Public Administration
▪ By the late 1960s, serious questions were being raised
about the state of the discipline and profession of public
administration.
▪ H. George Frederickson called for social equity in the
performance and delivery of social services.
▪ Although mostly pushed by writing rather than action, the
principle now dominates public administration actions.

6. The Challenge of Equality
▪ Equality is an American ideal.
▪ In 1776 the Declaration of Independence proclaimed
that “all men are create equal.” Derived from natural
rights which cannot be taken away. John Locke.
▪ But, both the Declaration and Constitution denied
rights to large segments of the population.

7. Racism
▪ Race can be defined as large group of people with common
characteristics that are presumably transmitted genetically.
▪ Physical characteristics
▪ More controversially, emotions and aptitudes.
▪ Up to the middle of the 20th century, race was used as a
method of distinguishing among national groups.
▪ Began as language distinction, but became a source of
ranking and discrimination.

8. Race
▪ A racist can be defined as any person or organization that
either consciously or unconsciously practices racial
discrimination against a person on the basis of race (or
ethnicity) or supports the supremacy of one race over others.
▪ “Stealth racism.” – Department store security, racial profiling.

9. The Bitter Heritage of Slavery
▪ What distinguishes African-Americans from other ethnic
groups is the fact that they are the only group brought to the
U.S. as slaves.
▪ Constitution
▪ Article I, section 2 – three-fifths rule.
▪ Article I, section 9 – slave trade (1808).

10. The Bitter Heritage of Slavery
▪ Article IV, section 2 – runaway slaves.
▫ No person held to service or labor in one state, under
the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in
consequence of any law or regulation therein, be
discharged from such service or labor, but shall be
delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service
or labor may be due.

11. Equal Employment Opportunity
▪ Equal employment opportunity (EEO) is a concept fraught
with political, cultural, and emotional overtones.
▪ Generally, it applies to a set of employment procedures and
practices that effectively prevent any individual from being
adversely excluded from employment opportunities on the
basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, or
other factors that cannot lawfully be used to make
employment decisions.

12. The Case for Affirmative Action
▪ Statistically-based. Lower median income, lower life
expectancy, lower status occupations.
▪ Disparities exist because of continuing patterns of
discrimination.
▪ Vigorous affirmative action program only way to get beyond
adverse impact of systemic discrimination.
▪ Affirmative action increases tolerance among individuals and
productivity in organizations.

13. The Case against Affirmative Action
▪ Simply stated: It is unfair. Racial and sexual preferences
violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 just as much racial and
sexual barriers.
▪ Affirmative action programs also have the effect of
stigmatizing minority workers, who may have received the
job on merit, but will be perceived as receiving it to meet a
quota.
▪ Compensatory benefits should be based on class, not race.

14. Representative Bureaucracy
▪ J. Donald Kingsley (1944).
▪ Samuel Krislov (1967, 1974).
▪ How could any bureaucracy have legitimacy and public
credibility if it did not represent all sectors of its society?
▪ Modern theoretical basis for EEO and affirmative action.

15. Public Administration and Social Equity
▪ All public administrators have an obvious
obligation to advance social equity, but it can be
done in several ways.
▪ Administer laws in a fair manner.
▪ Seek to hire and advance a varied workforce.
▪ Moral leadership.