REFLECT. REIMAGINE. ADVANCE.
Your 10th annual Women in Public Service Leadership conference will reflect on how the progress of the past inspires and leads us through current challenges. Having grown into the State’s flagship public sector event attracting more than 600 women, the conference’s central mission continues: increasing the number and professionalism of women in senior leader and executive roles in the public service.
We started a decade ago talking about breaking barriers and increasing representation, before expanding into leadership capability, flexibility, and career pathways. However, women are still principal carers, earn less and face a technological revolution in the jobs in which they predominate.
Now is the time to think about our leadership for the next 10 years.
A platform for voices and connection continues in 2026
A defining feature of this conference is its ability to bring together a diverse range of voices, including senior public servants, ministers, subject matter experts, Indigenous leaders, and emerging talent from across the sector. This mix has helped foster a shared understanding of leadership challenges while creating opportunities for cross-agency collaboration and professional networks that extend well beyond the annual event. For many participants, the program has become more than a conference, it is seen as a catalyst for career development, an environment to build connections, and a space where leadership identity is shaped and strengthened.
Who should attend
This conference is your space to listen, learn, connect and grow whether you are an emerging leader, an experienced executive or a mentor. It is for:
- Existing leaders aspiring to executive roles
- Those who want to increase their understanding and capacity for change
- New professionals discovering what it takes to be leaders
- Those who want to establish their own rewarding careers
- Executives mentoring a group from their team or an organisation
Evolving conversations over 10 years with the next evolution coming to you in 2026
Over the past decade, the program has reflected the changing landscape of public service leadership:
- Early years focused strongly on breaking barriers and increasing representation
- Mid-decade discussions expanded into leadership capability, flexibility, and career pathways
- More recent conferences have addressed systemic change, workplace culture, and intersectional equity. The latest programs explore emerging challenges such as AI and digital transformation, the erosion of DEI frameworks, hybrid work and workforce redesign and leadership in times of disruption and change.
This evolution reflects a public sector adapting to rapid social, technological, and organisational change and you can expect this year’s program to continue that trajectory, evolving once again to tackle the most important challenges and relevant issues facing today’s public service leaders.
As its program evolves, ensure you keep posted on this page to read more about the exciting sessions we have lined up for you at the IPAA WA Women in Public Service Leadership conference this year.