Passive representation: The effect of affirmative action bans on female representation in law enforcement

Studies of representative bureaucracy often focus on underrepresented social groups in the public sector and examine the link between passive representation and active or symbolic representation. This study emphasizes that passive representation is not a fixed condition but can be influenced by policy interventions and shaped by historical passive representation. This study proposes hypotheses that affirmative action bans at the state level, which were adopted with an expectation to yield neutral outcomes by proponents, may not lead to neutral outcomes but can disproportionately decrease female representation in law enforcement. It tests hypotheses using both staggered and two‐way fixed‐effects difference‐in‐difference methods with city‐level panel data from 1988 to 2019. The findings indicate that affirmative action bans have decreased female representation in cities with more than 100 sworn officers. This study provides empirical evidence that the absence of affirmative action may result in the decreased representation of underrepresented and marginalized social groups.