Pamela Herd, the Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy, and Donald Moynihan, the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy, have been recognized with the 2026 Riccucci-O'Leary Award for the best article on diversity in public management. It is conferred by the Public Management Research Association (PRMA).
The award-winning article, "Gendered administrative burden: regulating gendered bodies, labor, and identity," focuses on how women experience disproportionate administrative burdens that reinforce existing gender inequality.
PRMA notes that "Herd and Moynihan extend administrative burden theory in a powerful direction, demonstrating that burdens are not neutral but are systematically structured along gendered lines — shaping whose bodies, whose labor, and whose identities are subject to government regulation and compliance demands."
The award committee recognized this as "a landmark contribution bridging public administration with broader conversations about gender, equity, and state power."
Moynihan and Herd's previous work on the topic has helped influence state and federal policy reforms, including executive orders by the Biden Administration. Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means received multiple awards for its impact on public policy, including the American Political Science Association's 2022 Herbert Simon Best Book Award. Moynihan was named as a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow and also this year's recipient of the PRMA Frederickson Award for Career Contributions.
Established in 2021 by PRMA, the Riccucci–O'Leary Award is given annually for the best article on diversity, broadly defined, published in JPART or PPMG, honoring the contributions of Norma Riccucci and Rosemary O'Leary, two scholars who have shaped the field's understanding of diversity, management, and public service.
