Exploring the Causal Story: Gender, Active Representation, and Bureaucratic Priorities

Using the theoretical framework posited by Keiser et al. (2002),researchers have found active representation for gender in severalpublic organizations (Keiser et al. 2002; Nicholson-Crotty andMeier 2002; Wilkins and Keiser 2006). This article uses individual-leveldata to explore the causal story behind previous aggregate levelfindings that suggest that female child support enforcementsupervisors provide active representation to female clients,who directly benefit from increased child support collections(Wilkins and Keiser 2006). This article tests whether femalechild support enforcement supervisors behave differently thantheir male counterparts. The findings suggest that female supervisorshave different priorities and/or spend their time differentlythan their male counterparts, and these differences may leadto active representation. Using survey data, I examine the individual-levelcausal story behind the relationship between individuals andbureaucratic priorities.