Applying Representative Bureaucracy Theory to Academia: Representation of Women in Faculty and Administration and Title IX Compliance in Intercollegiate Athletics

The representative bureaucracy theory posits that the passive representation of women in an organization leads to their active representation in terms of gender equity in policy implementation. The present study examines how women's representation in administration and faculty positions may explain gender equity-oriented policy outcomes, focusing on compliance with Title IX of the Educational Amendments to the Civil Rights Acts in intercollegiate athletics. Using the data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS; National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 2013), the present study examines the relationship between women's representation in university top administration and faculty positions and the 2 main areas of Title IX compliance among the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I institutions: passing the first prong of the "substantial proportionality" test and women's share of total per team expenditures. The findings indicate that while women's representation in top administrative positions does not explain the institution's Title IX compliance, their representation in pretenure faculty positions is positively, though weakly, associated with compliance in terms of women's share of per-team expenditure. The results also suggest that the representation of women in state legislatures is positively associated with Title IX compliance of public institutions, but not with private institutions' compliance.