Goal 5: Gender Equality

The University of Wollongong (UOW) is committed to working towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through its governance, teaching and learning, community engagement, partnerships and research. The following initiatives are by UOW staff and students working towards Goal 5: Gender Equality.

UOW is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive workplace, and are proud of our culture that provides equal opportunity regardless of gender. We have adopted policies that support gender equality, the non-discrimination of women, transgender people, and the LGBTQIA+ community, and have developed workplace flexibility arrangements that support all genders and promote a healthy work-life balance. We are also committed to removing barriers to the selection, advancement and opportunities for people of all genders in the workplace, and have solid training packages in place.

Further, UOW has been recognised as one of the prominent organisations in Australia focused on gender equality in the workplace and providing meaningful support for men and women to achieve their career goals.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Implementation Roadmap

The University of Wollongong's Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Implementation Roadmap 2025-2030 (PDF) supports the University's commitment to equitable access, participation and success for all students. This includes women, members of the LGBTIQ+ community, people with lived experience of disability, First Nations peoples, people with culturally diverse backgrounds, as well as parents and carers.

The roadmap supports the implementation of UOW's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, and outlines actions and initiatives designed to remove barriers to participation, improve equity outcomes and foster an inclusive learning environment. Together with UOW's monitoring of female applications, admissions and graduation outcomes, the Roadmap demonstrates UOW’s commitment to supporting women's application, acceptance, entry and participation in higher education.

Tracking women’s access and graduation rate

Note: All metrics presented in this website are specifically designed to track progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals only.

The University of Wollongong tracks and monitors applications, admissions and graduations of female students compared to male and gender diverse students. The University offers a range of scholarships and mentoring programs to support female student success.

The table below provides the percentage of total applications, successful applications, commencing students and completions according to gender in 2025.

In 2025, 63.9% of successful applicants to UOW were women. Among domestic undergraduate commencing students, 62.4% in 2025 were women. 63.3% of completions were women, compared to 36.5% for males. It is a testament to the University of Wollongong’s dedication to gender equity that more than half of all applicants, commencers and completions in UOW are women.

The table below provides the comparative outcomes of the 2021-2023 commencing domestic 3-year bachelor cohorts broken down by gender. This is measured as a delayed indicator of success, comparing cohorts that could have finished by 2025 based on minimum time to complete.

_{* Data up to date as of 22 October 2026.}

There is ongoing growth in the graduation rate of female students from the 2021 commencing cohort to the 2023 commencing cohort, from 48.9% to 50.4%. This growth, which is not yet finalised as 12.3% of the 2023 commencing cohort are still studying, is emblematic of UOW’s ongoing efforts to ensure equal opportunity.

Some of the programs and schemes that have bridged the gender equity gap in applications, entry and graduation of women are the Lucy Mentoring Program for female law students, and UOW’s alignment with the Women in STEM Decadal Plan to include support for women before, during and after their pursuit of a degree in STEM. 

Providing women access

The University of Wollongong provides long-standing programs, schemes and scholarships that promote gender equality. 

Women in underrepresented subjects

Policy and reporting

Policy of non-discrimination against women

As a national leader in gender equity, UOW is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive community and are proud of our culture that provides equal opportunity regardless of gender. Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy is formulated to prevent and effectively respond to all forms of unlawful discrimination, harassment, sexual harm, racism, violence, vilification, or victimisation. Its application includes women, men and people of diverse genders.

In terms of females, our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy is elaborated in UOW’s Diversity, equity, inclusion and gender equity Capability Statement (PDF). UOW is dedicated to non-discrimination against women and actively works to address gender pay equity through measuring and eliminating pay gaps. Additionally, we strive to remove barriers and promote opportunities for people of all genders in the workplace.

Policy of non-discrimination against transgender people

The University of Wollongong (UOW) upholds a policy of non-discrimination that explicitly includes transgender and gender-diverse people. Under the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, UOW commits to creating an inclusive and equitable environment where all staff and students are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of gender identity or expression. This is further supported by the Gender Identity and Affirmation Guidelines (PDF), which outline the University’s commitment to a transgender-friendly culture free from discrimination and harassment, including the right to use affirmed names and pronouns, and access facilities consistent with one’s gender identity.

In addition, UOW’s Sexuality and Gender Diversity (LGBTIQ+) inclusion program promotes a safe, respectful and supportive campus for people of all gender identities. Together, these policies, guidelines, and initiatives create a non-discriminatory environment for transgender people in UOW.

Maternity and Paternity Policies

UOW's maternity and paternity policies enhance and support women’s work participation and work-life balance. They are contained in both the Academic and Professional Enterprise Agreements. UOW has generous participation schemes for women (and all primary carers) including the "Return to Work Grant" which is equivalent to 12 weeks of ordinary salary and has a greater than 90% take up rate at UOW. The return-to-work grant has been in place for over 10 years and this scheme is one of the most generous and flexible schemes in the higher education sector.

This program enables the primary carer to supplement their salary if returning part-time or to use the grant as an additional period of paid primary carer leave. Alternatively, they can have it added as a lump sum payment into a research account or choose a combination of these options. UOW also offers employees the option to return to a temporary part-time position at the completion of parental leave for up to 2 years.

• Academic staff Enterprise Agreement (PDF)
• Professional staff Enterprise Agreement (PDF)

Protection against reporting

UOW is committed to having sound and ethical corporate governance. It has policies and procedures that allow anonymous disclosure to raise concerns regarding unethical, unlawful or undesirable conduct, including discrimination pertaining to educational and employment disadvantage, while protecting those who are reporting such conduct.

• Serious Wrongdoing Reporting Policy
• Serious Wrongdoing Reporting Procedure

Workplace Gender Equality reporting

Each year, UOW is required to submit an annual compliance report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), to meet its obligation under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. The Act requires non-public sector employers with 100 or more employees to submit an annual report for the preceding 12-month period ie, 1 April – 31 March. The report is comprehensive and contains a combination of qualitative and quantitative responses.

UOW has a history of meeting the minimum standards set by WGEA in relation to specific gender equality indicators. Organisations with 500 or more employees must have a policy or strategy in place that specifically supports gender equality to be eligible to meet this minimum standard.

UOWs gender pay gap reporting and employer statement

Campus services

Childcare

UOW offers childcare services to students and staff studying and working at the University. Kids Uni is an onsite childcare centre offering seasonal bookings for students which run from the start to the end of each session, to allow students with children to attend classes and complete assessments and exams. In some cases, free, fully subsidised childcare is available for eligible students and staff.