Merit is in the eye of the beholder: barriers to female employment in the Queensland Public Service from 1859-1959

The cornerstone of public sector employment was the merit principle, under which recruitment and promotion was to be based on merit rather than patronage or political connections. In theory, the merit principle should have offered equal opportunity to all citizens. In practice, merit was interpreted in ways that maintained and reinforced male dominance in the workplace. Gender influenced perceptions of skill and the allocation of work. Labour market requirements harnessed and perpetuated these gendered perceptions for economic advantage. The Queensland case study confirms the inequitable application of the merit principle due to gendered stereotypes and protection of the male labour market. It also identifies how implementation processes can turn apparently neutral legislative principles into gendered policies and practices.