Why a reluctance to disclose is hurting Queensland’s diversity targets

A reluctance by Queensland’s public servants to tell their boss whether they are living with a disability means the government will struggle to hit its ambitious diversity target.

But one advocate who works in the public sector says there are myriad reasons workers may not want to share the details of their disability.

Queensland author and disability advocate Robert Hoge, who works in the public service.

A recent survey of the Queensland public service revealed only 54 per cent of public servants living with a disability had spoken about it with their manager or supervisor.

Most who told their boss did so after they had been given the job, while 18 per cent had not told anyone in their workplace about their disability.

Robert Hoge, a writer and advocate who now works as an assistant deputy director-general for the Queensland government, said it was common for people working in all sectors to be reluctant to disclose their disability.

“A person’s disability may not impact their ability to do their job,” he said.

“People may feel that they have plenty of good support mechanisms outside of work, so they don’t feel the need to engage in conversations about their disability at work.

“It could be they feel that their disability or impact is temporary, and they don’t want a long term-stigma that might come with disclosing in the workforce.”

However, this presents a challenge for the state government, which in 2016 set a target of 8 per cent of its workforce being made up of people living with a disability by 2022.

Despite a new, even more ambitious target of 12 per cent now set for 2026, the latest workforce report showed only 3.4 per cent of public servants identified as living with a disability.

The Queensland government has set ambitious targets for disability inclusion in its public sector workforce.Credit: Queensland public sector workforce profile, March 2023

Other figures show a different story. Public Service Commissioner David Mackie said 11 per cent of employees who answered its last Working for Queensland survey anonymously reported having a disability.

Mackie said it was a priority for the commission to build a public sector that represented the community it served – where about 19 per cent of Queenslanders have a disability – and to provide all employees with a safe and inclusive workplace.

“A diverse public sector ensures we are positioned to better understand the challenges within our communities and deliver even better services, outcomes and advice,” he said.

Victoria has a target of 12 per cent by 2025, while NSW’s target is 5.6 per cent by 2027.

Hoge, who shared his own story in a memoir titled Ugly and a TEDx talk that has attracted more than 10 million views, said a person’s relationship with their disability was personal to them.

“Some people have an invisible disability. I do not,” he said.

“It’s really obvious that I have a disability, and I’m not afraid to disclose ... but I don’t think it’s useful if I were to lecture people with a disability and say they have to disclose.”

Hoge said he believed the public sector was making meaningful changes to improve inclusion of people with disabilities, but that he hoped the numbers would grow.

“The stronger our voice can be across all organisations, the faster we can push for the change that’s necessary,” he said. “It would be good if we’re close to what we think reality is.”