Previous research on gender-based inequality in public-sector state-level bureaucracies finds evidence of glass ceilings and glass walls; however, previous research does not evaluate these factors together, nor does this research extend beyond the late 1990s. This study uses newly available data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—data spanning from 1995 to 2015 that include the entire universe of female and male administrators—to evaluate this research question: Are gender-based pay disparities and glass walls among administrators in state-level bureaucracies related to the policy/program missions of state agencies? This study observes administrative-level gender-based pay disparities in all state agency types. Furthermore, this study finds evidence of occupational segregation or glass walls in distributive and regulatory agencies, but not in redistributive agencies. The findings indicate some progress for women; however, as recently as 2015, U.S. state bureaucracies, on average, did not achieve gender equity among their administrative ranks.

先前关于公共部门国家级官僚机构中基于性别的不平等的研究发现了玻璃天花板和玻璃墙的证据。但是，先前的研究并未同时评估这些因素，这项研究也未延伸至1990年代后期。这项研究使用了美国平等就业机会委员会（EEOC）的最新数据（1995年至2015年的数据，其中包括整个女性和男性管理人员）来评估该研究问题：是否存在基于性别的薪酬差异和隔离墙与国家机构的政策/计划任务相关的州级官僚机构的管理者？本研究观察了所有国家机构类型中行政级别基于性别的薪酬差异。此外，这项研究发现了分配和监管机构中职业隔离或玻璃墙的证据，而在再分配机构中则没有。调查结果表明妇女取得了一些进展；然而，直到2015年，美国各州官僚机构平均都没有在其行政级别中实现性别平等。