Gender equality in higher education: how to overcome key challenges

By Miranda Prynne, 3 March, 2022
Series Type
Collections
Teaser
Achieving gender equality in higher education remains elusive. In some parts of the world, girls struggle to access post-secondary education and even in countries where many women do embark on academic careers, there is still a marked lack of female representation in leadership roles. However, huge progress has been made through small changes like scheduling teaching hours around childcare needs or big institution-wide reform linked to SDG5: gender equality. In this collection marking International Women’s Day, university leaders and faculty share ways institutions and individuals can tackle the challenges faced by women in academia.
Description
Achieving gender equality in higher education remains elusive. In some parts of the world, girls struggle to access post-secondary education and even in countries where many women do embark on academic careers, there is still a marked lack of female representation in leadership roles. However, huge progress has been made through small changes like scheduling teaching hours around childcare needs or big institution-wide reform linked to SDG5: gender equality. In this collection marking International Women’s Day, university leaders and faculty share ways institutions and individuals can tackle the challenges faced by women in academia.
Resource
By Laura.Duckett, 17 December, 2024

Low-cost ways to support women academics

Female lecturer speaking to students at the front of class
Offering mentorship opportunities, supporting peer groups and addressing bias are some of the ways institutions can support women academics
Reading time
4minutes
By Eliza.Compton, 18 September, 2023

How to promote disabled women in academia

Woman with prosthetic arm helping colleague
Disabled women are significantly under-represented in senior roles within universities. Here’s how – and why – institutions can and should support them better for career progression
Reading time
4minutes
By sara.custer, 3 February, 2023

How to encourage gender equity in interdisciplinary research

A female and male researcher conducting interdisciplinary research
A study into gender balances of interdisciplinary research teams shows that the presence of women is beneficial up to a point. Elisabeth Browning suggests ways funders and institutions can encourage their participation
Reading time
6minutes
By Miranda Prynne, 6 December, 2022

The power of gender-sensitive mentoring

Women mentoring
Mentoring is a powerful tool to enhance job satisfaction and work-life balance. This guide aims to help mentors adopt a gender-sensitive approach to support women and people who identify as women in teaching-focused roles
Reading time
4minutes