Although Dowse returned to the AIS, she was soon appointed head of the new women's affairs section in the prime minister's department. The section provided bureaucratic support for Elizabeth Reid, dealing with her correspondence and advising her on the wide range of policy matters of special concern to women. When Reid resigned in October 1975 (not long before the Whitlam government's dismissal), the section was upgraded to a branch, with Dowse its acting head.