References to “gender equality” have been removed from the Queensland Office for Women’s website. Comparisons of archived and live pages show more than 20 mentions of “gender” were removed across the site, including in relation to the gender pay gap.
Web archives from January 2026 indicate that six prominent references to “gender equality” or “gender equal” were removed from the Office for Women’s “About” page. This included its mission statement, which had previously read: “We’re working towards a gender equal Queensland.” As of Tuesday, no mention of “gender” appears on that specific page.
Former department staff claim they received internal requests to remove the term “gender” from the online portal. They alleged that managers relayed that the minister for women, Fiona Simpson, considered the word “on the nose” and “loaded.” Ms Simpson, however, stated to the Guardian that this claim is “utterly false.”
Ms Simpson said the website was updated for the launch of Queensland’s first Women’s Economic Security Strategy. During parliamentary estimates last week, Natalie Wilde, the department of women’s director general, stated that her portfolio routinely reviews and updates its web presence to improve user experience.