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Blog Summer Blogs

My 2022-2023 IGEPS Experience

black twist pen on notebook

By Nicole DiMaria:

During the 2022-2023 academic year with IGEPS, I have been working on a plethora of academic manuscripts, partnerships, and conferences.

During the 2022-2023 academic year with IGEPS, I have been working on a plethora of academic manuscripts, partnerships, and conferences. My focus has been primarily on a manuscript exploring legislation passed under the DeBlasio administration to assess the presence of gender equity and protection for one’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE). I also had the exciting opportunity to assist my supervisors and coworkers on a UN project. Days, weeks, and months were dedicated to provide the UN with a quick turnaround on a report that assessed policies, legislation, initiatives, and laws internationally to understand how countries were working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and specifically, SDG 5. With that project finishing in December, this spring semester has entailed continuing on the gender equity scholarship from the DeBlasio administration, along with assisting on a project focusing on Gender Inclusion in the Workplace. This work, and specifically my focus on the work-life balance and family friendly policies, has been evident in local scholarship from New York City, and internationally and from countries across the world from us, such as Australia. This reiterated gender disparities is not an isolated problem, and must be addressed on all levels. I have also recently been able to present findings related to the UN project and New York City legislation at the American Society for Public Administration Conference and the  Northeastern Conference on Public Administration, and was connected with an extremely talented group of individuals passionate about similar issues. Just recently, I was also given the opportunity and support to write an Op-ed. The first thought that came to mind was a personal, yet common, experience: being the victim of a sex crime while on the subway. The piece explored current initiatives and steps taken to address this issue, along with reiterating this is not a new problem. By being vulnerable, I hoped to humanize myself beyond my name under an article.

My experiences with IGEPS have greatly contributed to my future career success and have prepared me for whatever avenue I decide to pursue. As a woman, this is an issue that greatly affects my opportunities and myself due to the stereotypes surrounding my gender identity and my capabilities. Our research has backed up the fact that gender inequities are narrowing, but are still visible. In the meantime, I constantly worry I may be looked over for jobs I know I am qualified for because of my gender. In addition, as I am currently working in New York City, I understand legislation that protects those in the SOGIE community from discrimination. It has been eye opening to learn how things I think of as common courtesy or decency, such as providing feminine products to inmates in prison, was not discussed in legislation until DeBlasio. 

I recently graduated with my Master’s in Forensic Psychology, and have been on the hunt for jobs since earlier this year. I knew my psychology background provided me with the quantitative and statistical skills needed for research, but I was lacking in terms of qualitative data collection and analysis. IGEPS has exposed me to qualitative research and new programs used for research that I know will give me leverage for job opportunities, as some of my colleagues seem to have experience only in one or the other. I will also admit I was pretty unfamiliar with legislation, policies, and the workings of the public sector. After a year of working with IGEPS, I now feel comfortable searching for literature surrounding the public sector and legislation, explaining gender equity initiatives, and analyzing their impacts on certain communities. While on the hunt for work, I noticed many jobs within the psychology, investigative, legal, and criminal justice fields involve data analysis specific to policies in order to address what’s working and what isn’t, in order to provide suggestions to the government and write up policy briefs.

IGEPS has been, and will continue to be, an invaluable experience. From public speaking and gaining professional experience presenting at conferences and working with the UN, to understanding where my own City stands in protecting minorities, I learn and grow every day.

 

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About the author:

Nicole DiMaria is a graduate student at John Jay College currently working towards her M.A. in Forensic Psychology. She graduated with a B.S in Psychology from Fordham University and has conducted her own research relating to the challenges to and malleability of eyewitness testimony. She hopes to continue research involving policies and legislation of the criminal justice and legal system, specific to the inequalities in sentencing, treatment, and methods and modes of crimes between majorities and minorities, whether it be gender, race, sexuality, or age. When she’s not studying, she’s likely to be found walking dogs in the streets of NYC, or in the studio dancing. 


Categories
Blog Summer Blogs

Margaret Mikulski’s Experience with IGEPS

person writing on notebook

By Meg Mikulski:

I am currently working as a jail social worker while completing coursework for my Master of Public Administration, Criminal Justice Public Policy degree. Since starting with IGEPS in Spring 2022, my awareness of gender-related issues in public service has expanded, as well as my experience in academic research.

I am currently working as a jail social worker while completing coursework for my Master of Public Administration, Criminal Justice Public Policy degree. Since starting with IGEPS in Spring 2022, my awareness of gender-related issues in public service has expanded, as well as my experience in academic research. I am continuously learning about new gender issues in the public sector, including workplace policies and how gender norms and attitudes impact public policy and women in leadership, for example. 

My work with IGEPS has primarily focused on a project with the United Nations, which resulted in three UN reports and one academic manuscript, “Gender Equity in a Global Context: Examining Legislation and Policies Promoting Women’s Access to Leadership Positions in the Public Sector”. The UN project highlighted policies globally related to the Sustainable Development Goals related to gender equity. I assisted in finding relevant literature and policies related to various policies related to SDG 5, as well as, coding each document using Atlas.ti to highlight relevant information for the manuscript. Through this process, I learned the nature of working on a comprehensive publication with a team of researchers. Although difficult at times, it is rewarding to be able to be a part of a project that can inform future policy work as it relates to gender equity. 

I have also been given the latitude and support to write a Scholars Strategy Network policy brief that is still in progress related to the impact of felony murder laws on youth in the criminal justice system. Examining gender from different facets as it applies to the public sector has been fascinating and informative. Although some of the issues may be more commonly talked about (i.e. the gender pay gap), it is interesting to explore these issues as it applies to the public sector and continue to make these issues relevant in timely conversations.  

The opportunities IGEPS provides will continue to support my career progress through academic research and allow me to see the world through a more equitable and intersectional viewpoint. Many of the issues that arise around gender equity also cross into the criminal justice field. Through the lens of gender equity, I am more conscientious of issues related to gender in both public administration and criminal justice. As a woman, it is imperative that I continue to highlight issues that could affect myself and all genders in multiple sectors and society at large. 

 

◂Return to blog homepage

About the author:

Meg Mikulski is a graduate student at John Jay College working towards her Master of Public Administration in Criminal Justice Public Policy. She has earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Loyola University Chicago, and her Master of Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is currently in Minnesota working as a social worker in a county jail providing mental health services to inmates. She has previous experience working in community corrections, research and policy, and mental health fields in Chicago and suburbs of the Twin Cities. She hopes to continue her work in the intersection of mental health and the criminal justice system. Her personal interests include traveling, going to art museums, trying new foods, and spending time with her dog.  


Categories
Blog Summer Blogs

How My Work with IGEPS will Inform My Future Research

photo of a woman thinking

By Meghan Scarlott:

During the 2022-23 academic year with IGEPS, I worked on manuscripts and conference presentations for a number of projects.

During the 2022-23 academic year with IGEPS, I worked on manuscripts and conference presentations for a number of projects. My primary focus has been to draft a history of SOGIE in the workplace, looking at legislation, court decisions, and social norms that impacted the workforce participation of people belonging to marginalized genders. Prior to this project, I had not conducted such in depth research into the history of gender in the United States. The project has given me a better understanding of how even policies not directly related to the workforce can dramatically impact women’s ability to work and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals in the workforce. I also had the opportunity to explore SOGIE representation and ways to promote inclusive workplace policies. As this project has developed, I have presented on the importance of understanding the history of women in the workforce and SOGIE policies at John Jay College’s Graduate Symposium and the Northeastern Conference on Public Administration. I have also worked with my colleagues at IGEPS on a project for the UN that analyzed policies around the world that concerned women in the workplace. Specifically, this project sought to understand what countries have done to work towards Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), Gender Equality. There was a quick turn around for this project, and it was exciting to work on something so fast paced. When the project was finished, I presented our findings with my IGEPS colleagues at the American Society for Public Administration Conference. Working with IGEPS has given me insight into how broad gender issues can impact gender equality in the workplace..

My time at IGEPS has supported my long term academic and career interests immensely. Much of my work and research in forensic psychology has been focused on cis men, and I rarely have opportunities to explore issues of gender in the field. My research interests have centered around terrorism and security policy, which is often focused solely on men. In fact, my most recent research for my Master’s thesis has focused on involuntary celibates (incels), or men who believe in an extremely misogynistic ideology. Working with IGEPS has helped me to expand my view of the issues I care about and to add a more nuanced perspective of gender to my work. This has made me more interested in how perceptions and experiences of gender roles can contribute to extremist ideology and action. As a woman, understanding how masculinity norms can contribute to violence against women is very important to me, and I hope to continue to explore this area of research to develop early intervention for those engaged with extremist ideology.

As a recent graduate from the Forensic Psychology MA program at John Jay College, I am looking for new opportunities to work in the field and bring the experience I gained at IGEPS into the field of psychology. My time at IGEPS has opened my eyes to gender issues that I had not fully explored previously. As I continue to pursue my interests in research on extremism and forensic psychology more broadly, I will take what I have learned from my experiences with IGEPS with me. I look forward to continuing my work at IGEPS and to continuing to grow through this research experience.

 

◂Return to blog homepage

About the author:

Meghan Scarlott is a graduate student at John Jay College working towards her MA in Forensic Psychology and her Advanced Certificate in Transnational Organized Crime. She earned a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs with a concentration in Security Policy and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from George Washington University. She has experience in economic development from working at the Boston Chamber of Commerce on their Pacesetters program, connecting minority-owned businesses with larger cooperation. Meghan’s interest include baking, running, and playing with her puppy!


Categories
Blog Summer Blogs

Melissa Brock’s IGEPS Experience: Joining the Conversation

question marks on craft paper

By Melissa Brock:

Having joined the IGEPS team as a graduate fellow during the Spring 2023 semester, I am learning the ropes, getting my feet wet, and embodying every sort of imaginable idiom which calls to mind a period of adjustment.

Having joined the IGEPS team as a graduate fellow during the Spring 2023 semester, I am learning the ropes, getting my feet wet, and embodying every sort of imaginable idiom which calls to mind a period of adjustment. Unlike many of my academic peers, I am no longer young, nor am I highly experienced in navigating a world in which complex social problems are acknowledged and discussed. Instead, I’ve been ensconced in a physical and mental environment of complacency tantamount to complicity for the better part of two decades. 

I am a career civil servant with over 20 years in the public sector, and it has been easy and comfortable to relegate myself to a simple cog in the machine. Before enrolling at John Jay, I had long abandoned any fantasy of creating impactful and lasting change, choosing instead to remain focused on surviving the years of service required to collect a pension. I was generally satisfied to complete my job duties with little to no consideration of the struggles facing my diverse group of coworkers. The real struggles, that is. I was well-versed in the vapid water cooler gossip which dominates many office settings. 

Now halfway through this Master’s program, I am more observant of my surroundings, and rather than allowing the routine and habitual sights and sounds fade into the background, I have become more mindful. And, more importantly, I’m starting to ask questions again. Questions which signal to me, at least, that instead of a progression towards equity, many public agencies remain stagnant or may have actually experienced a regression. I observe a dearth of women currently employed in leadership positions, for example, and have noted an absence of BIPOC men benefiting from recent promotional opportunities. I wonder if there is bias in the civil service system, if there are biases in the actual civil service examinations, or are there processes within public sector agencies themselves which benefit white, cishet men at the expense of all others? And I wonder how many opportunities I missed to bring awareness to disparity… How many overlooked chances to promote equity slipped by… How many times have I failed to stand up for others because I simply wasn’t paying attention?

It is, therefore, very humbling to be invited to contribute to the work of an organization such as IGEPS. Collaboration with IGEPS Directors, Fellows, and Assistants on projects such as Gender Inclusion in the Workplace. I’ve been tasked with writing the text’s introductory chapter, which will introduce students to key concepts and definitions regarding gender, will contextualize the role of gender in employment, and will orient readers to the importance of prioritizing and promoting gender equity in working environments. Concurrently, I have begun work on an individual fellowship project, a research brief on the topic of obstetric violence which I will submit for publication to the Scholars Strategy Network. The goal of this project is to illuminate this facet of gender-based violence and to serve as a basis of discussion for possible policy action.

I hope that my work with IGEPS will assist me in expanding my awareness of gender bias in the workplace so I can continue to question the status quo. I am confident I will gain insight into the importance of gender equity in the workplace, will understand how far the local, state, and federal governments are from workplace equity, and will be prepared to offer solutions to stakeholders who are committed to change. I specifically hope to leverage knowledge and experience gained to assist my agency in becoming a local model for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the public sector.

 

◂Return to blog homepage

About the author:

Melissa Brock is a graduate student at John Jay College working towards her Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Criminal Justice Policy Administration. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Saint Peter’s University, and her Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology and Counseling from Saint Elizabeth University. Melissa currently works as a counselor in an adult county correctional facility in New Jersey. She is a certified Disaster Response Crisis Counselor and has previously worked with the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris. She also volunteered at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy, where she provided instruction to correctional police officer recruits in subject matters such as the effects of dehumanization of the justice-involved population. She hopes to shift gears after graduation and begin a new career effecting positive change to the criminal justice system at the policy level. When her toddler allows it, Melissa is a voracious reader, and she enjoys attending live music or comedy shows. 


Categories
Blog IGEPS Experience During the 2022-2023 Academic Year

 Experience with IGEPS 2022-2023

by Meg Mikulski

I am currently working as a jail social worker while completing coursework for my Master of Public Administration, Criminal Justice Public Policy degree. Since starting with IGEPS in Spring 2022, my awareness of gender-related issues in public service has expanded, as well as my experience in academic research. I am continuously learning about new gender issues in the public sector, including workplace policies and how gender norms and attitudes impact public policy and women in leadership, for example.

My work with IGEPS has primarily focused on a project with the United Nations, which resulted in three UN reports and one academic manuscript, “Gender Equity in a Global Context: Examining Legislation and Policies Promoting Women’s Access to Leadership Positions in the Public Sector”. The UN project highlighted policies globally related to the Sustainable Development Goals related to gender equity. I assisted in finding relevant literature and policies related to various policies related to SDG 5, as well as, coding each document using Atlas.ti to highlight relevant information for the manuscript. Through this process, I learned the nature of working on a comprehensive publication with a team of researchers. Although difficult at times, it is rewarding to be able to be a part of a project that can inform future policy work as it relates to gender equity. 


I have also been given the latitude and support to write a Scholars Strategy Network policy brief that is still in progress related to the impact of felony murder laws on youth in the criminal justice system. Examining gender from different facets as it applies to the public sector has been fascinating and informative. Although some of the issues may be more commonly talked about (i.e. the gender pay gap), it is interesting to explore these issues as it applies to the public sector and continue to make these issues relevant in timely conversations.  


The opportunities IGEPS provides  will continue to support my career progress through academic research and allow me to see the world through a more equitable and intersectional viewpoint. Many of the issues that arise around gender equity also cross into the criminal justice field. Through the lens of gender equity, I am more conscientious of issues related to gender in both public administration and criminal justice. As a woman, it is imperative that I continue to highlight issues that could affect myself and all genders in multiple sectors and society at large. 

◂Return to blog homepage


About the author:

Meg Mikulski is a graduate student at John Jay College working towards her Master of Public Administration in Criminal Justice Public Policy. She has earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Loyola University Chicago, and her Master of Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is currently in Minnesota working as a social worker in a county jail providing mental health services to inmates. She has previous experience working in community corrections, research and policy, and mental health fields in Chicago and suburbs of the Twin Cities. She hopes to continue her work in the intersection of mental health and the criminal justice system. Her personal interests include traveling, going to art museums, trying new foods, and spending time with her dog.  

Categories
Blog IGEPS Experience During the 2022-2023 Academic Year

 IGEPS Experience: Joining the Conversation

silhouette photography of people
by Melissa Brock

Having joined the IGEPS team as a graduate fellow during the Spring 2023 semester, I am learning the ropes, getting my feet wet, and embodying every sort of imaginable idiom which calls to mind a period of adjustment. Unlike many of my academic peers, I am no longer young, nor am I highly experienced in navigating a world in which complex social problems are acknowledged and discussed. Instead, I’ve been ensconced in a physical and mental environment of complacency tantamount to complicity for the better part of two decades.

I am a career civil servant with over 20 years in the public sector, and it has been easy and comfortable to relegate myself to a simple cog in the machine. Before enrolling at John Jay, I had long abandoned any fantasy of creating impactful and lasting change, choosing instead to remain focused on surviving the years of service required to collect a pension. I was generally satisfied to complete my job duties with little to no consideration of the struggles facing my diverse group of coworkers. The real struggles, that is. I was well-versed in the vapid water cooler gossip which dominates many office settings.

Now halfway through this Master’s program, I am more observant of my surroundings, and rather than allowing the routine and habitual sights and sounds fade into the background, I have become more mindful. And, more importantly, I’m starting to ask questions again. Questions which signal to me, at least, that instead of a progression towards equity, many public agencies remain stagnant or may have actually experienced a regression. I observe a dearth of women currently employed in leadership positions, for example, and have noted an absence of BIPOC men benefiting from recent promotional opportunities. I wonder if there is bias in the civil service system, if there are biases in the actual civil service examinations, or are there processes within public sector agencies themselves which benefit white, cishet men at the expense of all others? And I wonder how many opportunities I missed to bring awareness to disparity… How many overlooked chances to promote equity slipped by… How many times have I failed to stand up for others because I simply wasn’t paying attention?

It is, therefore, very humbling to be invited to contribute to the work of an organization such as IGEPS. Collaboration with IGEPS Directors, Fellows, and Assistants on projects such as Gender Inclusion in the Workplace. I’ve been tasked with writing the text’s introductory chapter, which will introduce students to key concepts and definitions regarding gender, will contextualize the role of gender in employment, and will orient readers to the importance of prioritizing and promoting gender equity in working environments. Concurrently, I have begun work on an individual fellowship project, a research brief on the topic of obstetric violence which I will submit for publication to the Scholars Strategy Network. The goal of this project is to illuminate this facet of gender-based violence and to serve as a basis of discussion for possible policy action.

I hope that my work with IGEPS will assist me in expanding my awareness of gender bias in the workplace so I can continue to question the status quo. I am confident I will gain insight into the importance of gender equity in the workplace, will understand how far the local, state, and federal governments are from workplace equity, and will be prepared to offer solutions to stakeholders who are committed to change. I specifically hope to leverage knowledge and experience gained to assist my agency in becoming a local model for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the public sector.  

◂Return to blog homepage


About the Author:

Melissa Brock is a graduate student at John Jay College working towards her Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Criminal Justice Policy Administration. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Saint Peter’s University, and her Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology and Counseling from Saint Elizabeth University. Melissa currently works as a counselor in an adult county correctional facility in New Jersey. She is a certified Disaster Response Crisis Counselor and has previously worked with the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris. She also volunteered at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy, where she provided instruction to correctional police officer recruits in subject matters such as the effects of dehumanization of the justice-involved population. She hopes to shift gears after graduation and begin a new career effecting positive change to the criminal justice system at the policy level. When her toddler allows it, Melissa is a voracious reader, and she enjoys attending live music or comedy shows. 

Categories
Blog IGEPS Experience During the 2022-2023 Academic Year

 How My Work with IGEPS will Inform My Future Research

by Meghan Scarlott

During the 2022-23 academic year with IGEPS, I worked on manuscripts and conference presentations for a number of projects. My primary focus has been to draft a history of SOGIE in the workplace, looking at legislation, court decisions, and social norms that impacted the workforce participation of people belonging to marginalized genders.

Prior to this project, I had not conducted such in depth research into the history of gender in the United States. The project has given me a better understanding of how even policies not directly related to the workforce can dramatically impact women’s ability to work and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals in the workforce. I also had the opportunity to explore SOGIE representation and ways to promote inclusive workplace policies. As this project has developed, I have presented on the importance of understanding the history of women in the workforce and SOGIE policies at John Jay College’s Graduate Symposium and the Northeastern Conference on Public Administration. I have also worked with my colleagues at IGEPS on a project for the UN that analyzed policies around the world that concerned women in the workplace. Specifically, this project sought to understand what countries have done to work towards Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), Gender Equality. There was a quick turn around for this project, and it was exciting to work on something so fast paced. When the project was finished, I presented our findings with my IGEPS colleagues at the American Society for Public Administration Conference. Working with IGEPS has given me insight into how broad gender issues can impact gender equality in the workplace.

My time at IGEPS has supported my long term academic and career interests immensely. Much of my work and research in forensic psychology has been focused on cis men, and I rarely have opportunities to explore issues of gender in the field. My research interests have centered around terrorism and security policy, which is often focused solely on men. In fact, my most recent research for my Master’s thesis has focused on involuntary celibates (incels), or men who believe in an extremely misogynistic ideology. Working with IGEPS has helped me to expand my view of the issues I care about and to add a more nuanced perspective of gender to my work. This has made me more interested in how perceptions and experiences of gender roles can contribute to extremist ideology and action. As a woman, understanding how masculinity norms can contribute to violence against women is very important to me, and I hope to continue to explore this area of research to develop early intervention for those engaged with extremist ideology.

As a recent graduate from the Forensic Psychology MA program at John Jay College, I am looking for new opportunities to work in the field and bring the experience I gained at IGEPS into the field of psychology. My time at IGEPS has opened my eyes to gender issues that I had not fully explored previously. As I continue to pursue my interests in research on extremism and forensic psychology more broadly, I will take what I have learned from my experiences with IGEPS with me. I look forward to continuing my work at IGEPS and to continuing to grow through this research experience.

◂Return to blog homepage


About the author:

Meghan Scarlott is a graduate student at John Jay College working towards her MA in Forensic Psychology and her Advanced Certificate in Transnational Organized Crime. She earned a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs with a concentration in Security Policy and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from George Washington University. She has experience in economic development from working at the Boston Chamber of Commerce on their Pacesetters program, connecting minority-owned businesses with larger cooperation. Meghan’s interest include baking, running, and playing with her puppy!

Categories
Blog IGEPS Experience During the 2022-2023 Academic Year

My 2022-2023 IGEPS Year

group of people near wall
by Nicole DiMaria

During the 2022-2023 academic year with IGEPS, I have been working on a plethora of academic manuscripts, partnerships, and conferences. My focus has been primarily on a manuscript exploring legislation passed under the DeBlasio administration to assess the presence of gender equity and protection for one’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE).

I also had the exciting opportunity to assist my supervisors and coworkers on a UN project. Days, weeks, and months were dedicated to provide the UN with a quick turnaround on a report that assessed policies, legislation, initiatives, and laws internationally to understand how countries were working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and specifically, SDG 5. With that project finishing in December, this spring semester has entailed continuing on the gender equity scholarship from the DeBlasio administration, along with assisting on a project focusing on Gender Inclusion in the Workplace. This work, and specifically my focus on the work-life balance and family friendly policies, has been evident in local scholarship from New York City, and internationally and from countries across the world from us, such as Australia. This reiterated gender disparities is not an isolated problem, and must be addressed on all levels. I have also recently been able to present findings related to the UN project and New York City legislation at the American Society for Public Administration Conference and the  Northeastern Conference on Public Administration, and was connected with an extremely talented group of individuals passionate about similar issues. Just recently, I was also given the opportunity and support to write an Op-ed. The first thought that came to mind was a personal, yet common, experience: being the victim of a sex crime while on the subway. The piece explored current initiatives and steps taken to address this issue, along with reiterating this is not a new problem. By being vulnerable, I hoped to humanize myself beyond my name under an article.

My experiences with IGEPS have greatly contributed to my future career success and have prepared me for whatever avenue I decide to pursue. As a woman, this is an issue that greatly affects my opportunities and myself due to the stereotypes surrounding my gender identity and my capabilities. Our research has backed up the fact that gender inequities are narrowing, but are still visible. In the meantime, I constantly worry I may be looked over for jobs I know I am qualified for because of my gender. In addition, as I am currently working in New York City, I understand legislation that protects those in the SOGIE community from discrimination. It has been eye opening to learn how things I think of as common courtesy or decency, such as providing feminine products to inmates in prison, was not discussed in legislation until DeBlasio.

 I recently graduated with my Master’s in Forensic Psychology, and have been on the hunt for jobs since earlier this year. I knew my psychology background provided me with the quantitative and statistical skills needed for research, but I was lacking in terms of qualitative data collection and analysis. IGEPS has exposed me to qualitative research and new programs used for research that I know will give me leverage for job opportunities, as some of my colleagues seem to have experience only in one or the other. I will also admit I was pretty unfamiliar with legislation, policies, and the workings of the public sector. After a year of working with IGEPS, I now feel comfortable searching for literature surrounding the public sector and legislation, explaining gender equity initiatives, and analyzing their impacts on certain communities. While on the hunt for work, I noticed many jobs within the psychology, investigative, legal, and criminal justice fields involve data analysis specific to policies in order to address what’s working and what isn’t, in order to provide suggestions to the government and write up policy briefs.

IGEPS has been, and will continue to be, an invaluable experience. From public speaking and gaining professional experience presenting at conferences and working with the UN, to understanding where my own City stands in protecting minorities, I learn and grow every day.

◂Return to blog homepage


About the author:

Nicole DiMaria is a graduate student at John Jay College currently working towards her M.A. in Forensic Psychology. She graduated with a B.S in Psychology from Fordham University and has conducted her own research relating to the challenges to and malleability of eyewitness testimony. She hopes to continue research involving policies and legislation of the criminal justice and legal system, specific to the inequalities in sentencing, treatment, and methods and modes of crimes between majorities and minorities, whether it be gender, race, sexuality, or age. When she’s not studying, she’s likely to be found walking dogs in the streets of NYC, or in the studio dancing.

Categories
Blog 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 is both yes and no.

In the yes column is the fact that men still occupy the majority of all but two legislatures in the US (Nevada and Guam are majority women), and most political bodies around the globe. Also, men are over-represented in the federal government, even more over-represented than they are in the private sector, and even better represented in management in government. Even in the nonprofit sector, where women are the majority of professionals, men still represent the majority of CEOS in large organizations (where the pay is better). Stivers’ noted that public administration scholars and leaders approach public service in a way that more closely resembles the mostly men who occupied the New York Bureau of Municipal research than the mostly women who occupied the settlement house movement. Because so many men have occupied the power centers of governance, and because so many men have decided what to research within those power centers, I concede the point that public administration has little need of more research on how men have run public administration.

Given the fact that men in governance have received so much attention, it is therefore baffling that there is so little research on how masculinity influenced all of these men as they engaged in their public service. Public administration scholars have called for more research on masculinity at least since Wamsley et al. in 1990, and certainly Jane Addams had a thing or two to say about the influence of masculinity on public service. This research consists mostly of calls for better understanding of how it is that the presence of so many men in public service has influenced governance. How has masculinity made governance more or less effective, efficient, economical, and equitable? I argue that this question needs more focus and more energy because the lack of understanding of the ways that men have influenced public service is the source of a large amount of administrative disfunction, including distrust, inefficiency, and inequity.

Let’s take as an example Riccucci and VanRyzin’s finding that domestic violence units with more women are more trusted. I argue that this finding indicates that masculinity in the police force is creating distrust. Women as well as men can enact masculinity, but when the public see men, they assume masculine. This is sometimes a benefit. Often it is not. Public servants would be better served if they could choose between masculinity and femininity to make deliberate use of both when appropriate. But none of that is possible until public administration researchers and public servants have enough knowledge of the ways that masculinity influences public service.

Okay, so why not start by focusing on femininity? I recently shared my research with Seba Bishu on femininity and masculinity in city management offices with a student who is a deputy city manager being groomed to take over when her boss steps down. Her response was to tell me that she felt seen. In her work, she was constantly engaged in doing both masculine and feminine tasks to be the best deputy city manager she could be. Because she was a woman in a space that was predominantly masculine, she was more aware of the moment when she reached for masculine tools. As more women come into public service, it becomes even more important to understand how they will need to conform to, change, or leverage the assumed masculinity in many public service organizations. It is not that we need to focus on masculinity to the exclusion of femininity. But to support equity, effectiveness, and democracy, scholars and public servants must focus on both masculinity and femininity in public service. With my chapter, I hope to give scholars and public servants a head start on understanding the masculinity at play in their research to enable a broader and deeper understanding of one of the most powerful influences on governance across the globe.

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About the author:

Nuri Heckler, J.D., Ph.D. focuses his research on Whiteness and Masculinity in public organizations including nonprofits, social enterprise, and government. Using experimental, qualitative, historical, and theoretical research methods, he examines the mechanisms that reinforce inequities and inefficiencies in public organizations. As a Maryland barred attorney, his research also examines the role law plays in the work of public administrators. His research can be found in Administrative Theory & Praxis, Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, Administration & Society, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Urban Affairs Review, and Public Integrity among others. He is an avid commuter cyclist who spends his free time with his two children and baking award-winning cookies.

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Blog Emerging Gender Topics in Public Administration

Learning 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 Section on Women in PA and a previous contributor to this blog, I was excited for the opportunity to develop such a needed resource. I was also excited to share historical stories of amazing women in PA. More importantly, PA’s history contains all kinds of missing voices, which we need to discover and integrate into the texture of our field. A history filled almost exclusively with the voices of white males is a contemporary problem. This exploration is still in its early stages.

Through the works of Camilla Stivers (1995, 2000), we have learned that in the late 1800’s and early 1900s at the time of PA’s American origin story women developed an alternative model of PA through their work in the Settlement Movement. They became a kind of boots-on-the-ground network of non-profit, residential community/education and service centers designed to address urban problems brought on by industrialization and mass immigration. One of the leaders of this movement, Jane Addams, established, Hull House, in Chicago. Hull House was predominantly run by women, who lived among their immigrant neighbors.  Together they learned from one another and worked to improve living and working conditions within the community. My chapter in the Handbook highlighted the stories of a few of the women who lived and learned at Hull House. These women became leaders and developed what Stivers called the Settlement model of public administration.  

What can students of contemporary public administration learn from the women pioneers of the settlement movement? These women pioneers had a radical way to conceptualize city government. They argued that instead of thinking cities should operate like a business, cities should be run like a household that cared for its members. At the time there was an idealized and ruthless, macho “survival of the fittest model” that guided business practices. This fit well with the rugged individual model of the pioneer. As a result, urban poverty was viewed as an individual problem attributable to vices like laziness and alcohol abuse. This model helped to make the captains of industry wealthy and fueled industrialization. Further, corrupt contracting practices coupled with crony hiring practices created a business and government partnership that often left the city a stinking mess filled with health hazards. For example, corrupt garbage collection practices left rotting horse carcasses in the roads where curious children would play on them. The experiences of men, who at that time generally left the care of children to women, developed a model of city government filled with blind spots.

Women organized to champion a different model. The settlement women led the charge. I hope you can see how radical “Civic Housekeeping” was compared to the “City as Business” model. Families care for their members. They make sure the home is a place of refuge and safety where the basic needs of all are considered – including women and children. Families members care for and nourish each other. This model emphasized an ethic of care rather than an ethic of self-reliance. Women organized to change the urban-industrial environment. Settlement workers were a leading edge of this work.  Their efforts brought parks and playgrounds to cities as well as child labor laws, juvenile courts, and workplace safety laws. In Chicago, Hull House residents led an effort to improve garbage collection that dramatically lowered the infant mortality rate.  I mention but a fraction of the reforms’ women, using the banner of “civic housekeeping”, ushered in. And, they did all of this as disenfranchised people unable to express their preferences through the vote. 

The reforms remained but the civic household model of governance and the names of the reformers, who were often seen as social workers, never entered the PA historical narrative.  We should reclaim this model along with the care ethic that is its springboard. Care ethics supports social justice. The two go naturally hand in hand. I have introduced the civic household model to students in my ethics class along with readings on care and social ethics. In the process students are introduced to the settlement model of public administration and the works of Jane Addams. I was surprised and pleased. My students enthusiastically embrace and apply these concepts. The women students are happy to find heroines they can relate to. 

So, the takeaway here is that investigating the history of women in PA reveals the role of care ethics in public administration. Care ethics brings diversity to the ideas that support public administration. It belongs in our public discourse and in the PA ethics classroom. At the bottom of this post find a few sources on the history of women in PA and on care and social ethics all written by women. Many of the sources, all written by women, can be found in the Handbook on Gender and PA.  Please dig in!

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About the Author

Patricia M. Shields is a Regents’ professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University.  She along with Nicole Elias edited the Handbook on Gender and Public Administration. She enjoys working with students on their research projects. She has published extensively in public administration theory, methodology, women in PA history, and civil military relations. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.