Gender diversity in the public sector: reforms, challenges, and emerging opportunities

Call for Papers

Gender diversity in the public sector: reforms, challenges, and emerging opportunities

Journal:Public Money & Management

Manuscript deadline : 1 September 2026

This special issue focuses on how gender diversity in public administration, public service organizations, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) affects governance quality, performance, equity, and democratic accountability. It highlights how women’s presence in strategic roles can influence decision styles, stakeholder inclusion, social equity, and long-term societal outcomes, while noting that evidence and practice in the public sector still lag behind private-sector debates.

Special Issue Editors

• Younes Ben Zaied, EDC Paris Business School, France

• Shajara Ul-Durar, University of Sunderland, UK

• Assil Guizani, EDC Paris Business School, France

• Alessandro Marra, University d’Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Italy

Key themes (examples)

• Gender diversity and public sector performance

• Women in SOEs and executive agencies

• Public service delivery and gender-sensitive governance

• Barriers and enablers for women’s advancement in public organizations

• Gender, ethics, and public integrity

• Representative bureaucracy and its effects

• Mentorship/sponsorship programmes and promotion rates for women

• Future directions for gender-responsive public management

The call also connects to reforms and quotas such as EU board directives, national laws on women’s representation, and gender-responsive budgeting efforts, while stressing gaps in implementation, pipelines, and evidence about impacts on outcomes.

Submission details

• Articles must follow PMM author guidelines and be submitted via ScholarOne.

• Deadlines:

  • 1 September 2026 for 8,000-word research articles and 3,500-word new development articles.

  • 1 November 2026 for 1,000-word debate pieces.

• Authors must declare any conflicts of interest (e.g., links to lobby groups).

• Accepted pieces are published online with DOI as soon as they are accepted, without waiting for the whole theme issue.

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