“As the pendulum swings, there are those in the Australian public service who are, inappropriately, interpreting gender equality to mean female domination,” writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE. 

Gender equality has been the catch cry of feminists for decades. And rightly so. Male domination was seen as unfair and inappropriate in a modern liberal society.

However, the term gender equality has taken on a whole new meaning in the Australian public service. As the pendulum swings, there are those who are, inappropriately, interpreting gender equality to mean female domination. 

When the pendulum swings too far it feeds into the growth of the unhealthy masculinity that is a growing issue in social media and in our society.

The permanent Australian public service is now 60.5 per cent composed of women. This compares to 58.4 per cent just seven years ago. The proportion of women employed in 2025 at the SES Band 2 and 3 level was more equitable at 51.1 per cent.

The Gender Balance on Australian Government Boards Report is revealing. From a low of 42 per cent of women on government boards in 2016-17, the public service has now reached a high of 54.3 per cent for 2024-25. The efforts applied have borne fruit.

The report also points out: “If reporting on government-appointed board positions only, 55.7 per cent of government-appointed positions were held by women” and proudly adds “an increase of 1.3 per cent since 2023-24”.

The other way to look at this, although not shown in the report, is that gender imbalance has now returned to 2017-18 levels with an imbalance of 45.7 per cent of members being male. If genuinely seeking gender equality, it would have pointed out that the male representation has slipped significantly over the last few years.

For more than half a century affirmative action has moved appalling inequalities to a much better balance. When used appropriately, affirmative action should be based on specific targets with specific timelines. When the targets are met, although monitoring should continue, the specific affirmative action is no longer needed.

The downside to affirmative action is that when one group is advantaged, another group is disadvantaged. Where the pendulum swings too far, young men (who were never part of the previous generation’s inequality problem) are going to be disadvantaged in the workplace.

Women were disadvantaged in the past. The same mistake ought not to be made again in such a way that young men are disadvantaged into the future.

This is nominally the case for the government’s approach. The report commences with “Target 1: Women to hold 50 per cent of all Australian Government board positions”. It does not say more than 50 per cent. This goal is an appropriate interpretation of gender equality.

More specific figures paint a trend that flies in the face of the gender equality concept. Social Services now has 71.9 per cent of board positions held by women (57 positions), followed by Attorney-General’s, at 65.5 per cent (87 positions), Education, at 61.9 per cent (244 positions), Finance at 61.1 per cent (54 positions), Health, Disability and Ageing at 59.6 per cent (525 positions). This is not gender parity. 

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts is the closest portfolio to reach exact gender parity, with women holding 50.1 per cent of its 813 positions.

In Veterans’ Affairs, including a range of agencies such as the Australian War Memorial, the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission and the Office of Australian War Graves, women make up 46.4 per cent per cent of all board members. Just below the 50 per cent are Defence with 48.1 per cent and Climate Change with 49.1 per cent.

The role of women in the workforce needed to change. As recently as the early 1970s a teacher who was a woman was paid considerably less than her male counterparts. This was also true in other professions. The argument was that she was not the “bread winner” and that he needed to be paid more in order to support his family. 

The changes that followed the election of the Whitlam government in 1972 began an evolution of the place of women in Australia. Overwhelming these changes have enhanced society. 

The last thing that our society needs is for the pendulum to swing so far that a backlash winds up undoing the amazing work that has been achieved by so many for so long. 

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.