Women in leadership
Over two-thirds of the Queensland public sector workforce identify as women or female (68.91%). This reflects the large and feminised workforces in both the health and education sectors.
| Employee gender idenitification from Minimum Obligatory Human Resource Information | |
|---|---|
| Identifies as man or male | 30.37% |
| Identifies as woman or female | 68.91% |
| Non-binary | 0.22% |
| Another term | 0.01% |
| Not disclosed | 0.49% |
Source: MOHRI March 2026.
The Working for Queensland (WfQ) survey captures employee engagement data by gender identity. Employees who identify as women typically have higher engagement rates than men, and both women and men have much higher engagement levels than employees who identify as non-binary, or another gender identity not listed.
The proportion of women in leadership roles has increased steadily over the past 5 years and comfortably exceeds the 50% target.
Analysing progress at the classification level provides a more granular view of the sector’s performance against the target. The representation of women at the Senior Officer (SO), and Senior Executive Service (SES) levels has largely exceeded the target and reflects the positive impact of gender equity strategies and leadership development initiatives.
However, women remain underrepresented at the Chief Executive Service (CES) and equivalent salary levels.
Women report feeling safer, more respected and more included at work than men.
Reponses are significantly less positive for employees who identify as non-binary or another gender identity.
| Question for employees | Identified as woman | Identified as man | Identified as non-binary | Identified as a gender not listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I am confident I could effectively intervene if I observed someone behaving in a discriminatory manner in the workplace. | 79% | 82% | 71% | 66% |
| I believe women have an equal opportunity to succeed in my workplace. | 81% | 87% | 72% | 63% |
| I believe men have an equal opportunity to succeed in my workplace. | 85% | 72% | 70% | 44% |
| I believe non-binary employees have an equal opportunity to succeed in my workplace. | 73% | 69% | 52% | 46% |
| As an employee of this organisation, I feel safe at work | 83% | 82% | 73% | 54% |
| As an employee of this organisation, I feel respected at work | 76% | 73% | 67% | 42% |
| As an employee of this organisation, I feel included at work | 76% | 74% | 63% | 46% |
| As an employee of this organisation, I feel I have an equal opportunity to succeed in my workplace. | 71% | 69% | 56% | 41% |
Source: WfQ 2025.
In 2025, 81% of female survey respondents felt that women have an equal opportunity to succeed in the workplace. This was a view held by 87% of male respondents.
This difference highlights how personal experience shapes perceptions of opportunity.