Rethinking the Administrative State Through an Intersectional Framework

This article was inspired by the special invitation to the Minnowbrook 50th Anniversary Conference: Rethinking the Administrative State. Participants were asked to write a concept paper discussing a critical issue or topic public administration, as a field, must address. As the legitimacy of the administrative state is constantly being threatened by systems of domination that seek to marginalize people with intersecting identities, public administrators must be stewards of democracy and work on behalf of all citizens. This essay advocates for the adoption of an intersectional framework in public administration because such a frame provides administrators with the knowledge, skills, and tools to incorporate multiple perspectives and ideologies, embrace difference, and work toward finally securing fairness, justice, and equity for all.