The role of middle managers in progressing gender equity in the public sector

Governments in Australia have expressed deep commitment to progressing gender equity for their workforces, and have developed gender equity strategies, in line with a worldwide trend. Despite the expressed commitment and actions to support gender equity in most jurisdictions, progress towards gender equity in the workplace has been uneven. There remains a gap between expectations and the lived experience of women in public sector workplaces, potentially due to a mismatch between policy and practice. We identified that middle managers, who are responsible for many of the decisions around policy implementation, might be the key to understanding this. Our aim was to talk to middle managers about their role in progressing gender equity.