This paper examines the representativeness of the public service, specifically of the Australian Public Service (APS). There is currently an underrepresentation of certain demographic groups. The reason for this could be cognitive biases of recruiters on the basis of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical and cognitive ability, socio-economic background and age. The public service is expected to be a reflection of the population it serves. For this reason, it is essential that the structural underrepresentation of marginalised groups in the APS is addressed. This paper therefore proposes the introduction of anonymous application procedures for entry-level positions in the Australian Public Service. This is an instrument which has shown to be effective in preventing recruiters’ biases and heuristics from occurring and ensuring a diverse public service. Keywords: representative bureaucracy, diversity, labour market participation, discrimination, anonymous application procedures Citation: Renkema, E.A. (2021). Representativeness of the Australian Public Service: the Case for Anonymous Application Procedures. Public Note, 8 |
Elise Renkema
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