End job gender bias bid

APPLICANTS for jobs with Tasmania’s public service would have their identity hidden in the early stages of recruitment under a policy the state’s Opposition wants to introduce.

Labor leader Rebecca White said the plan for “gender blind job applications” would apply to all government jobs and aimed to ensure applicants were assessed on their merits.

Under the plan, the names and photos of candidates would be hidden from applications before they are assessed by a recruiting panel. But the gender of applicants would be revealed at the face-to-face interview stage, Labor says.

“Research shows that unconscious bias results in men more frequently winning jobs over women,’’ Ms White said.

“Removing gender from an application gives everyone an equal chance of success.”

Premier Peter Gutwein said he was surprised at Labor’s position because more than two-thirds of Tasmanian state service employees are female.

The Tasmanian State Service 2018-19 annual report showed 71 per cent of more than 31,000 employees were female, as at June last year.

“The Government is getting on with the job of increasing gender equality in the state service,” Mr Gutwein said.

“We have proven our commitment to a diverse state service workforce, where women are well represented.”

Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Sarah Bolt said the Anti-Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of gender.

“The Act also has provisions to address historic discrimination of disadvantaged groups and to promote equal opportunity,’’ she said.

“We know that women are still discriminated against in employment and that unconscious bias still has an impact on discriminatory behaviours.”

She said Equal Opportunity Tasmania’s 2018-19 annual report showed discrimination on the basis of gender was the third most common cause of complaint.

Hobart barrister and Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman Greg Barns said any measures that could reduce instances of unconscious bias based on gender were welcome.

“Any processes that can demonstrably reduce bias and which will lead to less claims of discrimination are desirable,’’ he said.

Mr Gutwein said a target made in 2016 to achieve gender equity in the senior executive of the public service had been achieved, with women now making up 43 per cent of these roles.

He said a review of the state service, which is under way, will look at recruitment practices.