Gender across all Public Service staff and gender in senior leadership.
Gender across all staff
As at 30 June 2025, women made up 61.4% of the Public Service workforce, while 37.7% were men. Information from the Public Service Census showed that those of another gender or multiple genders made up 0.6% of the Public Service workforce in 2025 (up from 0.5% in 2021) — a greater proportion than previously shown in Workforce Data, although this figure continues to increase slowly, up to 0.3% in 2025 (compared to 0.1% in 2021).
Female representation has again dropped slightly from the record high seen in 2023 (62.2%). This compares with 50.6% in the New Zealand working-age population in the year ending June 2025 (from Stats NZ’s Household Labour Force Survey). The type of work in the Public Service may partly explain this high representation, as many Public Service occupations such as social workers, case workers and clerical and administration workers also have a high representation of women in the wider labour market.
Gender in senior management
Female representation at the senior management level has increased strongly over the past two decades and has exceeded 50% since 2020. However, it continues to remain below the proportion of women in the Public Service overall. As at 30 June 2025, the percentage of women in the top 3 tiers of senior management was 56.5%, slightly down from 56.7% in 2024 but well up from 35.6% in 2005.
Further information
Using the 2021 Public Service Census and Workforce Data, an in depth “Deep Dive” report was published, exploring the experience of women in the Public Service.