Workforce data 2023 - Diversity and inclusion

A diverse workforce and inclusive practices help public servants to engage more effectively with the communities they serve.

The Public Service has been focused on improving diversity and inclusion for some time now. Papa Pounamu is the comprehensive programme guiding our diversity and inclusion work. The programme has identified 5 priority areas that will make the most positive difference for all our people across a number of diversity dimensions. Public Service chief executives have agreed to make these commitments mandatory in their workplaces.

Papa Pounamu Diversity and Inclusion progress across the Public Service

Although there is still work to be done, we’re seeing some positive results from this work. The latest data shows that the Public Service is becoming more diverse, for example:

• Māori (16.8%), Pacific (10.7%), Asian (14.5%) representation in the Public Service workforce continues to increase.
• The number of women in leadership continues to rise (55.9%), moving closer to female representation in the Public Service overall (62.2%)
• Gender, Māori, and Pacific pay gaps are continuing to close.

We’ve been reporting on demographic information since 2000. We’ve also got better information on our faith, disability, and Rainbow communities.

In 2021, the inaugural Te Taunaki Public Service Census enabled us to report for the first time on how our people experience inclusion at work.

• Just under three quarters (72%) of our people feel they have access to employee-led networks relevant to them.
• Most of our people feel they can be themselves at work (82%).

We will be running Te Taunaki again in 2024. Having this data helps us to understand our progress, what’s going well and where we need to do more.

Diversity and inclusion