ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the contributions of Florence Nightingale, Mary Livermore, and Jane Addams and their organizations because their uncovered ideas and practices are an integral but neglected influence on the evolution of public administration as a field of practice and study. Their route to influence and public responsibility was blocked by cultural norms that kept them out of the public sphere. The women are synonymous with evidence-based, rigorous, scientific work that is infused with care, compassion, kindness, empathy, understanding, and nurturance, and their work is highly evocative of emotional labor. Addams's ideas have the potential to inspire practicing public administrators. Addams imagined a kind of democracy that can be actively practiced in public administrators' day-to-day life. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the work of these women has contemporary relevance, and how their insights may shape the future of public administration.
