With the representation of women in executive positions in the NSW Public Sector still lagging behind men, an initiative designed to highlight and recognise the work of women in these sectors has been launched.

The Top 50 Women List for the NSW Public Sector has been developed to focus a spotlight on inspirational female leaders within the public sector, to support and guide them through mentoring and to highlight their work as role models for other women.

While progress is being made to address this imbalance, there is still a substantial amount of work to be done to reach true equality, according to Clare McCartin , Davidson’s Group Manager Executive & Boards who are coordinating the list.

Ms McCartin said the Top 50 Public Sector Women list is designed to highlight the inequality in female representation at an executive level within Australia’s state public sectors and to encourage women aspiring to such roles.

“Last year we held the inaugural Top 50 Public Sector Women (Victoria) list and the response was quite incredible,” Ms McCartin said.

“We received a lot of submissions from and about women within the Victorian Public Sector who really are leading the way when it comes to showing true leadership in their roles.

“Given the success of the Victorian event, we decided to expand it this year to develop a NSW Public Sector Women List. There is a lot of very good work being done by some remarkable women and it is an honour to be able to share their stories.

“Women who aspire to leadership roles can only ever be encouraged by seeing other women who have gone before them who reached the heights of success. It is attainable and we want to get that message out there and encourage women to strive to reach the heights of success.”

Leaders who make it onto the Top 50 list for 2018 will receive the following:

Elizabeth Koff, Secretary of NSW Health , said she was delighted to be chairing the panel of judges for the NSW Top 50 Public Sector Women list.

“The Top 50 Women list is a celebration of the outstanding women making exceptional contributions to the NSW Public Sector every day,” she said. “There is a huge depth of female talent at a senior executive level in the public sector and opportunities to recognise and commend their contributions should be celebrated.”

Ms Koff explained the NSW Government had demonstrated its commitment to redressing the gender imbalance in senior leadership roles through the Driving Public Sector Diversity initiative which has set a target of increasing female representation in leadership roles from the current 33 per cent to 50 per cent by 2025.

Emily Phillips, Chief Executive with Agriculture Victoria will chair the panel of judges for the Victorian Top 50 Public Sector Women.

Entries are now being taken for both the Victorian and NSW Top 50 lists and the full judging criteria, can be found on the website.

Submissions for the NSW awards close May 8. Nomination details and applications can be found on the website – www.publicsectorwomen.com.au. Winners will be announced at a gala event on July 2.