The Ministry of Public Service and Gender was created under the reorganisation of the national government in November 2015. The reorganisation placed the then Directorate of Public Service Management and the State Department for Gender Affairs under the Ministry. The Executive Order No.1 of 2020 (Revised) created two State Departments in the Ministry namely State Department for Public Service and State Department for Gender.
In September 2021, the State Department for Development of Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and the State Department for Social Protection, Pensions and Senior Citizens were transferred to the Ministry of Public Service & Gender. The Ministry of Public Service & Gender was then reconstituted and renamed as the Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs & Special Programmes.
The ministry provides policy direction and management of the human resource function in the public service; promotion of gender equity and equality and the empowerment of women; enhancing the capacity and opportunities for the vulnerable; and enhancing socio-economic development of arid and semi-arid lands.