Navigating Representative Bureaucracy: Benefits, Barriers, and Vulnerabilities of Ohio Advisory Diversity Commissions
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Date
2023-11
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Abstract
The goal and responsibility of democratic government in the United States of America is widely understood to embrace inclusivity, opportunity, and equality, yet the erasure of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives stifles these rewards. This project aims to examine executive branch advisory commissions tailored to serve people with minority backgrounds, with the goal of discovering the benefits and barriers to integrating communities into the practical reformation of state institutions as seen by those at the helm. In the case of Ohio advisory diversity commissions, commissioners tend to match the racial/ethnic description of the community their commission is targeting. I utilized a qualitative research design through a series of 9 interviews and a comparative thematic content analysis. Informed by the anecdotal evidence of participant responses, I illustrate that representative bureaucracy greatly supports symbolic representation and its absence can have rippling effects for minority communities. I also find that, despite being recognized by the state, many believe minority interests and DEI are not currently penetrating long-standing power structures that have embedded political vulnerabilities amongst the marginalized and prevented substantive representation. This exploratory study gives critical attention to the appeal and challenges of descriptive representation as a vehicle for connection by using qualitative social science methodology that immerses the data in the perspective of political figures. Broader minority representation in government and meaningful, organic investment into the liaison model are recommended to improve the government's capacity to respond to minority interests.
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descriptive representation, representative bureaucracy, DEI, Ohio General Assembly, state liaison