Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
The University of Wollongong (UOW) is committed to working towards the United Nation's 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 Equity.
Across our subjects, courses, research publications and partnerships, UOW staff and students continued working towards the goals in 2025.
*SciVal figures accessed July - October 2026
8,100 students studying subjects about this goal
23.6% of publications related to this goal had international collaboration*
4.7 citations per publication*
41.3% publications in the Top 10% most cited*
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.
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.
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.
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. UOW also offers free Parent Rooms on campus, locations on the map provided, that provide a private space for breastfeeding, bottle warming and nappy/diaper changing facilities.
UOW has a spotlight on gender equity in the workplace. 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. 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.
We are committed to pay scale equity and the measurement and elimination of gender pay gaps. UOW regularly measures and tracks pay scale gender equity and conducts extensive gender pay gap analysis by level, faculty, division, and school.
The Safe and Respectful Communities (SARC) team has created training for staff at licensed premises in our local community, on how to address and respond to sexual harassment and sexual assaults in their venues. The Set The Bar initiative aims to educate learners on the underlying issues of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Set The Bar explores how gender inequality among other forms of oppression contribute to sexual violence in our community. Learners are asked to think about how they can respond to situations of gender inequality or disrespect of women in the future.
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.
Distinguished Professor Sharon Robinson is a co-leader of Homeward Bound’s Science Stream, a mentoring program supporting women in science from across the globe to strengthen their confidence to lead, build networks with other science leaders and gain support professionally and personally.
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 scholarship and mentoring programs to support female student success.
More information is available on the Department of Education website for Equity Performance Data and Attrition, Retention and Success Rates.
The table below provides the percentage of successful applications, commencing students and completions according to gender in 2024.
|
Categories |
Female |
Male |
Gender diverse |
|
Successful Applicants |
62.9% |
36.7% |
0.4% |
|
Undergraduate Commencers |
60.0% |
39.5% |
0.4% |
|
Completions |
60.79% |
38.94% |
0.27% |
In 2024, 62.9% of successful applicants to UOW were women. Among domestic undergraduate commencing students, 60% in 2024 were women. 60.79% of completions were women, compared to 38.94% 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.
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.
The University of Wollongong provides long-standing programs and schemes that promote gender equality. This includes scholarships and mentoring programs.
Lucy is a leadership program for female UOW law students. The aim of Lucy is to motivate and educate women about the career opportunities in law by establishing relationships between students and mentors who have achieved success in their professional career. Mentors are drawn from the corporate, public and not-for-profit sectors.
Apart from STEM, UOW is a gender-representative institution. To encourage women to apply in STEM courses and subjects, UOW has agreed to publicly align our gender equity journey with the Women in STEM Decadal Plan, a national campaign developed by the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) in collaboration with the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (AATE).
In addition, UOW runs a program called EmpowerHER STEM Summit, a two-day event designed to provide female students in Years 7, 8 and 9 hands-on experience and ignite their passion for STEM.
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:
“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.”
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, 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.
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