Diversity trends
Workplace diversity makes a major contribution to capability in the APS, as well as being important to equity in employment. Trends in diversity in terms of sex, race and ethnicity, Indigenous status or having a disability, are particularly relevant to monitoring employment-related disadvantage. Apart from sex, employees in these categories have the option of identifying themselves as belonging to these groups by reporting their status to their agency’s HR area. It is important that employees are given the opportunity to update their personal information, and that agencies then provide that data to the Commission. Last year’s employee survey results showed that only 10% of those employees who were offered the opportunity to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) data actively chose not to do so.
At June 2005, women accounted for 54.9% of total employee numbers. This was a relatively large increase over the previous year (53.8% at June 2004). Figure 2.2 shows changes in the proportion of ongoing employees in the other equal employment opportunity (EEO) groups over the past 10 years.
Figure 2.2: Trends in diversity for ongoing employee, 1996 to 2005
Source: APSED
The decline in employment for Indigenous Australians and people with a disability, noted in previous years’ reports, has continued this year. Indeed, the proportion of Indigenous Australians fell to 2.2% (down from 2.4% in 2004). During the past year, 48 Indigenous employees moved out of coverage of the Act, but remained in Commonwealth employment. If these employees were still in the APS, the representation rate for Indigenous employees would have been 2.3% at June 2005, rather than 2.2%. Last year we reported that 2.3% of ongoing employees at June 2004 were Indigenous. This year, that proportion has been revised upwards, due to an improvement in the quality of historical data on Indigenous status. As part of the APS Employment and Capability Strategy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Indigenous employees have been encouraged to identify themselves to their agency’s HR system and many have done so. Taking this new data into account has meant that numbers for previous years have been revised upwards.
Representation of people with a disability fell from 3.9% to 3.8% over the year. Both these groups declined in actual numbers as well as proportionately, despite an increase in overall ongoing employee numbers. For non-English speaking background (NESB1) employees,3 there was growth in both actual and proportional representation (up from 5.2% at June 2004 to 5.3% at June 2005).4 A detailed analysis of diversity in the APS can be found in Chapter 9, ‘Workplace Diversity’.
3 In the absence of alternative measures, the concept ‘NESB’, representing people from a non-English speaking background, is used with APSED. This captures information about first language spoken, place of birth and parents’ language. NESB1, the measure used here, includes people born overseas whose first language was not English. NESB2 has previously been reported in addition to NESB1 and includes children of migrants, including those who were born overseas and arrived in Australia before the age of five and did not speak English as a first language, those who were Australian born but did not speak English as a first language and had at least one NESB1 parent, and those who were Australian born and neither of whose parents spoke English as a first language. Analysis of APSED data has found that this group does not have a substantial disadvantage compared to other workers, and it is therefore not reported on here.
4 The representation of NESB1 employees has increased compared with the level reported last year. This is due to a revision in the calculation of this group’s representation. Previous years’ data has also been revised, so any longitudinal movement is not due to the change in methodology.
