Sharon is Principal Behavioural Scientist and Director of the Behavioural Science Unit at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

For nearly a decade, Sharon has played a leadership role in promoting the use of behavioural science to put people at the centre of public policy.

Despite controlling for experience and educational qualifications, Australian Public Service (APS) employees with disclosed disability continue to experience disproportionately lower promotion rates and remain over-represented in junior service-delivery roles, even following the implementation of various inclusion initiatives. Sharon's research addresses this critical knowledge gap by employing a rigorous mixed-methods approach grounded in behavioural science to identify specific barriers and enablers that affect leadership advancement for employees with disability. The resulting insights will inform the development of a behavioural roadmap outlining targeted interventions applicable across the APS, with potential transferability to other underrepresented groups and organisational contexts. This research represents a shift from conventional diversity management towards evidence-based approaches that deliver measurable outcomes and seeks to drive institutional transformation.

Supervisor: Associate Professor Brett Scholz