The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe yesterday announced a range of initiatives to ensure the composition of the workforce of the civil service reflects a better gender balance in the future, particularly at senior levels.
The new gender balance policy measures have been endorsed by the Government and are framed around practical HR and organisational considerations.
A key commitment in the Civil Service Renewal Plan is to "maximise the contribution of all staff, by nurturing and rewarding talent and by encouraging civil servants to develop their potential in a workplace committed to equality, diversity, and mutual respect."
The policy aims for a target of 50/50 gender balance in appointments at senior levels. The merit based approach of ‘best person for the job’ will continue to apply. However, in such cases, where candidates who compete for Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) positions are of equal merit, then priority would be given to the female candidate where they are under-represented on the Management Board of the Department/Office in question.
The Economic and Social Research Institute has been tasked with conducting research based on the 2015 Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey. The research will also include in-depth interviews with staff from across the civil service. It is hoped this approach of combining quantitative and qualitative research will provide a more complete picture of the factors influencing the under-representation of women at the senior grades of the civil service.
A new Senior Public Service Executive Leadership Programme was launched last December and a Principal Officer Level Leadership Programme will be launched early this year. Nominations for these Leadership Programmes plan to be balanced 50/50 from a gender perspective.
The civil service will participate in the programme of work being undertaken by the OECD on gender balance and learn from international best practice.
Speaking yesterday, Minister Donohoe said, "I secured Government approval on a range of initiatives to help improve gender balance in the civil service, particularly at senior level, where women are under-represented. This is also part of our efforts to reform our approach to HR generally in the civil service and adopt a new strategic direction to better manage our staff and help put us on the road to becoming an employer of choice."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
