Blair Williams | Australian universities still fostering poor cultures filtering into APS workplaces

At the infrastructure, transport and regional development budget estimates last week, it came to light that a "hotties list" had been created and circulated within the predominantly male graduate program at the Infrastructure Department. This list ranked women colleagues based on perceived sex appeal.

While the Jenkins inquiry and resulting Set the Standards report concerned MOP(S) Act employees rather than public servants, it is shocking that such harassment continues to occur.

After a grilling by senator Bridget McKenzie, Infrastructure department secretary Jim Betts disclosed that rumours of the list began circulating in late March, but the department didn't receive an official complaint until mid-May. The existence of the list could not be substantiated, which Betts clarified "doesn't mean it doesn't exist", so no one has yet been fired.

Officials have, however, spoken to the graduate cohort about the APS code of conduct and expectations while Betts sought advice from sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins and spoke with women in the cohort to ensure they were receiving any necessary support.

The emergence of this list contrasts with the image of the APS as a model workplace at the forefront of gender equality, inclusiveness, and respect. The APS was a leader in working conditions for women in the 1980s due to large strides made by the feminist movement, the expanding welfare state, and resulting gender equality architecture.

This waned with the introduction of New Public Management and the entrenchment of neoliberalism in the decades since, yet in the last decade we have witnessed a re-commitment to progressing gender equality.

In 2016, the APS released the first Gender Equality Strategy to "address the gender imbalance" across all levels and areas, but with a specific focus on leadership as women constituted only 41.8 per cent of Senior Executive Service (SES) positions.

The Gender Equality Strategy 2021-26 reported that the SES cohort had reached gender parity, demonstrating early success. While improvements have been made, work remained to be done to normalise respectful workplaces and thereby prevent gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment.

Despite these obvious efforts made in progressing gender equality, however, why did a group of young male graduates think it was acceptable to circulate a list objectifying their women colleagues?

Is this indicative of broader systemic cultural issues in the department?

One pertinent question is how a department with 60 per cent women ends up with a graduate cohort predominantly comprised of men. This proved a lesson for Betts who, in the hearing, condemned the gender imbalance and committed to "never [overseeing] a future graduate program where the gender balance is two-third male and one-third female."

If we look at it another way, perhaps it says something positive about APS culture if these women felt able to step forward, voice their concerns, and seek assistance.

Likewise, their complaints have been treated with seriousness: the department sought advice from Jenkins, there is a process in place, an investigation is under way, and Betts avowed that the "severest sanctions available" would be applied when the creators of the list are identified. Though he should admittedly have informed the minister, Catherine King, for accountability purposes.

It is interesting to note that concerns about the list were first raised in late March, not long after the graduate cohort started their positions in February - perhaps something else is at play.

The cohort are either final-year university students or recent graduates, as per eligibility requirements for the program, so we might instead turn our attention to universities.

Sexual assault and harassment are rife in higher education, indicating a problem with campus culture. A 2022 report commissioned by Universities Australia found that 16 per cent of students experienced sexual harassment since starting their studies, with many instances occurring on campus. This echoes the findings of the Australian Human Rights Commission's landmark Change the Course report in 2017.

Universities have been widely criticised by student bodies, safety advocates, the media, and politicians across the political spectrum, not only for failing to protect students but for the onerous complaint mechanisms that re-traumatise survivors. These are problems that urgently need to be addressed by the sector and, hopefully, the forthcoming Australian Universities Accord.

Our campuses have long struggled with misogyny. The hotties list is eerily reminiscent of the "Hotties of Melbourne University" Facebook page, which sparked outrage in 2016 for encouraging students to upload photos of their peers for commenters to rate their attractiveness.

Other high-profile incidents include a 2016 recording of male students from Philip Baxter College at UNSW chanting a college song with lyrics that promote misogyny and sexual violence, or the long tradition of sexism at St Paul's, the University of Sydney's oldest, all-male residential college, as documented by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

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That some men (it's mostly men) can graduate from university and still think it's OK to objectify women saddens but doesn't shock me. As a university lecturer, I believe we have a duty to our students as well as society to provide better education on consent, sex, and sexuality, but also on gender equality - to undo the normalisation of sexism and sexual harassment.

Teaching students about patriarchal power dynamics and societal structures, encouraging them to deconstruct patriarchal conceptions of gender and power, should not just be relegated to the gender studies departments. Making it an integral part of the curriculum could aid in the paradigm shift that our society so desperately needs.

This list also highlights a deeper issue: Australia in general remains a sexist country. Recent research by the Global Institute for Women's Leadership and IPSOS found that Australian men have some of the most sexist views in the Western world, with one-third of those surveyed believing that men have "lost out" economically, politically, and socially "as a result of feminism" and that "gender inequality doesn't really exist".

Addressing such pervasive attitudes demands a united effort towards transformative change in combatting sexism and advancing a more respectful culture across Australia.

Amidst echoes of the March4Justice movement and persistent sexism in the corridors of power, the appearance of this degrading list is a stark reminder of Australia's ongoing struggle for gender equality and workplace respect. Though the APS has made headway on gender equality in the workplace, the latest incident proves there is still much work to be done in all areas of society.