Gender Ramifications of a Weberian Bureaucracy: A Feminist Appraisal of the United States Department of Agriculture

Abstract

AbstractIn the field of public administration, a feminist appraisal of Weber’s bureaucracy has transpired gradually. In this article, we examine the gender ramifications of Weberian bureaucracy, with a specific focus on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Using the feminist critique of the field at large, and the framework of bureau men and settlement women in particular, we critically analyze Weber’s ideas of an ideal bureaucracy. Our central contribution is intermeshing Stiver’s critical perspectives with the theoretical frames of feminist phenomenology and feminist standpoint theory to craft a feminist model for appraising the agricultural bureaucracy in the United States. In doing so, we demonstrate how women farmers’ and landowners’ approach to agriculture and farm management is fundamentally different in values and orientation than the USDA’s Weberian bureaucratic approach which dictates the design and implementation of agricultural policy.