Gender Dialogues:
A space for community and conversation.
IGEPS actively curates a forum to discuss various equity topics in public administration and public policy. We host diverse voices and points of view from scholars, students, and practitioners. If you would like to contribute, please contact us.
- Disabled in the Workplace: Designing Work for Access and Inclusion
- Inclusion: Intent or Impact?
- Situating Inclusion: Shifting Perspectives in Public Sector Workplaces
- Pursuing Inclusion in Public Administration: Starting Upstream
- Public Sector Inclusion: Beyond Legal Requirements
- Two Steps Forward on the Road to Gender Equity…and Many More Needed
- Why inclusive leadership is the right thing to do
- Pandemic Community: The shifting role of Academic Twitter
- Biden, DEI and Critical Race Theory
- Introduction to the Fall 2021 Blog Series: Inclusion in Public Sector Workplaces
- Becoming IGEPS ( / ī jeps / )
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Emerging Gender Topics in Public Administration
Why Masculinity? Haven’t Men Had Enough Focus Already?
By: Nuri J. Heckler Men have been over-represented in government, management, and research for most if not all of modern history. Why, then, would I (a cis-gendered White man) write a chapter for Shields’ and Elias’ Handbook on Gender and Public Administration dedicated to Masculinity in public administration? Haven’t men had enough focus? The answer…
Keep readingLearning from our Diverse Past: Municipal Housekeeping and Care Ethics
By: Patricia Shields In 2018 when the publisher Edward Elgar first contacted me about editing the Handbook on Gender and Public Administration, I asked myself why. My scholarship in on the history of women in PA and on Jane Addams in particular, was the only reason I could muster. As an active member of ASPA’s…
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Inclusion in Public Sector Workplaces

Disabled in the Workplace: Designing Work for Access and Inclusion
by Kayla Schwoerer: Whether navigating a new work environment at home or developing a greater reliance on technology to meet, manage, and coordinate work-related tasks and responsibilities, the COVID-19 pandemic forced many people to adapt to new ways of working. But, for many of the 10.9 million workers in the U.S. with a disability, working…
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Inclusion: Intent or Impact?
by Dr. Schnequa N. Diggs: Greater attention and resources are intentionally directed to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the United States. Just recently, I had the opportunity to service on a faculty search community and this experience led me to question whether people genuinely understand what constitutes “meaningful” inclusion in public sector…
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The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student PerspectiveSelects on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

Closing thoughts on the COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education
by Dr. Shilpa Viswanath: WPS at John Jay College initiated this blog series on the COVID-19 pandemic and MPA education at the beginning of the fall semester – allowing for MPA students from across the United States to reflect on how their classroom education in public administration, public policy and public affairs gave them a…
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The Power and Pursuits of Graduate Student Leadership During the Pandemic
by Evana Alam: Public service motivation empowered me to seek MPA education at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Further, the public service values of accountability, inclusion, integrity, and justice in society and governance, aligned with my personal views. The COVID-19 pandemic changed many people’s lives and it is up to MPA students like me…
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Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Closing Thoughts on Equitable Conferencing
by Jamie Levine Daniel and Shilpa Viswanath: We initiated the “Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects” blog series in February 2020, just before COVID-19 drastically impacted academic conferencing, and most other aspects of academia, for that matter. Since the Spring 2020 semester, conferences were put on hold, canceled, or conducted online as we navigate a…
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Working Towards a Family Friendly Conference Culture
by Michael R. Ford: Several years ago I attended an academic conference in Florida. It was a Friday to Monday conference and I presented on a Sunday. I flew down Saturday, presented Sunday, and flew home. It was a typical conference experience for me as a junior tenure-track scholar trying to build a record. In…
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Implications of the #MeToo Movement for Academia

Closing Thoughts on the Implications of the #MeToo Movement for Academia
by Dr. Nicole M. Elias and Dr. Maria J. D’Agostino: In January 2019 we invited public administration scholars to contribute to our spring blog series, Implications of the #MeToo Movement for Academia. We asked bloggers to respond to the following questions: What does #MeToo mean for the world of higher education? What are the issues,…
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What’s Next: After the accusal, we still need reconciliation
by Dr. Roddrick Colvin It is March 24, 2025, and Professor Smith has just received her reconciliation notification as she hurries to teach her public administration class at Big State University. Although she expected the notification to arrive this day, it nonetheless caught her off guard. It wasn’t the first time she received a notification, nor…
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Events & Conferences

Student Responses to the 2019 ASPA Conference
Five students from John Jay College’s MPA program participated in the 2019 ASPA Conference. The ASPA Conference took place in Washington, DC from Friday, March 8, 2019 to Tuesday, March 12, 2019. This academic conference provided opportunities to present research, participate in panels and workshops, and engage with colleagues in networking events. Below are reflections…
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Student Responses to the 2018 NECoPA Conference
Six students from John Jay College’s MPA program participated in the 2018 Northeastern Conference on Public Administration (NECoPA). The NECoPA Conference took place in Baltimore, Maryland from Friday, November 2, 2018 – Sunday, November 4, 2018. This academic conference provided opportunities to present research, participate in panels and workshops, and engage with colleagues in networking events. Below…
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Big Questions Surrounding Gender Equity

Progress on Gender Equity in the Academy, but More Work Remains.
by Heath Brown: The recent summary by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) of research by the Council of Graduate Schools shows great hope for gender equity in the academy. For eight straight years, women earned more graduate degrees than men in the United States. Women earned 52% of the doctorates and 57% of masters degrees.…
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Continuing the Gender Equity in Academia Conversation: Recommendations and Next Steps
by Dr. Nicole M. Elias and Dr. Maria J. D’Agostino: On July 3, 2018, we posted our summer blog thread, “Big Questions Surrounding Gender Equity in Academia and the Field of Public Administration”. The response we received from journal editors, board members, and leaders in the field was impressive and eye-opening. Throughout the summer our…
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Miscellaneous

Student Perspectives on Gender in Public Workplaces and Gender Advocacy
Five students from a faculty-mentored research course, PAD 385: Sex and Gender in the Public Sector, at John Jay College conducted original qualitative research and presented their work at the 2019 Northeastern Conference on Public Administration (NECoPA). Nina Durand, Denissa Estevez De Leon, Karina Gopeesingh, Nicholas Hutchinson, and Mariana Silfa explored topics ranging from breastfeeding…
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Deborah Koetzle: Above and Beyond, Thirty Remarkable Women.
Women in the Public Sector (WPS), would like to congratulate Dr. Deborah Koetzle, Executive Officer of the Doctoral Program, at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, for being honored in the ‘Above and Beyond List’, which places a spotlight on thirty remarkable women in education, health, labor, law/lobbying, government, and real estate. Please see her…
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