Commitment and progress towards equity and diversity

Government commitment to equity and diversity

To effectively deliver services to the people of Queensland, the public sector workforce must reflect the community it serves.

The Queensland Government is committed to achieving diversity, equity and inclusion – and this commitment, in addition to the establishment of the OSC, is accompanied by policies and practices that support inclusive and respectful attitudes and behaviours.

The Act provides a strong framework for delivering equity, diversity, respect and inclusion outcomes.

The Act helps ensure public sector organisations:

• develop a diverse workforce that represents and reflects the diverse views, experiences and backgrounds of the people of Queensland
• actively progress equity and diversity in employment matters for diversity target groups, including conducting an annual equity and diversity audit and actively progressing gender pay equity
• can demonstrate there are equal conditions of employment and equality in access to employment opportunities and leadership roles
• foster a respectful and inclusive workplace culture in which all employees feel safe, valued, accepted and supported at work and can participate equally
• create workplaces free from discrimination.

Several data sources are used to measure performance and progress against the intent of the Act, including the Working for Queensland survey, Minimum obligatory human resource information (MOHRI) and equity and diversity audit results.

Equity and diversity progress

There are many initiatives that actively contribute to improved equity and diversity outcomes across the Queensland public sector, and by which our progress is measured, including:

• the Recruitment and selection directive (07/23) (the directive)
• equity and diversity audits
• focus on diversity groups through targets and employee experience data.

Recruitment and selection directive

Both the Act and the directive embed new approaches to recruitment and selection to balance merit and equity.

The directive outlines an holistic recruitment and selection process that supports a high performing, apolitical and representative public sector workforce.

Under this directive, the primary objective of recruitment and selection has shifted from finding the right person for the job, to finding the person best suited to the role and to the organisation.

Equity and diversity audits

Performance against equity and diversity outcomes, and areas for improvement across sector workforces, are actively monitored through annual equity and diversity audits.

Using a combination of MOHRI workforce data and Working for Queensland survey data, the audits capture the profile of the public sector and the culture, attitudes and behaviours prevalent in organisations.

An equity and diversity audit report is used as an evidence base to develop organisational equity and diversity plans. These plans are published by individual agencies or incorporated within strategic workforce plans.

Selection panels may draw on this information during recruitment and selection processes to address inequity and improve diversity outcomes in their workplaces.

Focus on diversity groups

Workplace inclusion strategies

Respect and inclusion strategies exist at sector and agency levels. These provide a framework for achieving the best possible outcomes for those in diversity target groups and others including LGBTIQ+ people.

Experiences of diverse employees

Employee engagement is particularly important to understand the experiences of members of different diversity groups. Employee engagement is a key metric in the measurement of the overall employment experience. Individuals that have positive employment experiences are also more likely to feel safe, respected and that their diversity is valued. Employee engagement is analysed for the various diversity cohorts in this report. Employee engagement data is captured through the Working for Queensland survey and includes themes such as:

• pride – I am proud to tell others I work for my organisation
• recommendation – I would recommend my organisation as a great place to work
• inspiration – my organisation inspires me to do the best in my job
• motivation – my organisation motivates me to help it achieve its objectives
• personal attachment – I feel strong personal attachment to my organisation.