Goal 5: Gender equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all.

Working in partnership both locally and globally, we are tackling each of the UN Sustainable Development Goals through our research and knowledge exchange, education and student experience, and through our operations. Discover how our unique commitments align with and support Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality.

Research and impact

The University advances SDG 5 through interdisciplinary, evidence-led research that addresses structural inequalities and empowers women and girls worldwide. In 2025 we hosted the Women and Non-binary Doctoral Researchers in STEM (WoNDRS) conference, which brought together over 100 doctoral researchers from over 25 UK universities, fostering inclusive academic spaces and future research leadership (5.5, 5.6). The Feminist City Network continues to reimagine urban spaces through feminist research, contributing to the Liverpool City Region International Women’s Day Conference in 2025 to influence local policy (5.1, 5.6). Liverpool researchers are advancing global conversations on gender diversity in corporate boards, work-family decision-making, and the impact of social media on young masculinities. The Transnational Gender Equality Framework proposes new international standards for workplace inclusion, while the Good Writing, Gender and the Gap project, embedded in teacher CPD across the Liverpool City Region, challenges gender bias in education outcomes (5.1, 5.6).

Education and student experience

The University supports SDG 5 through inclusive education and curricular innovation that promote gender equality and empower learners. Gender is embedded across multiple programmes, with modules such as Gender and Feminist Politics: Core Concepts and Theories, Gender and the Welfare State, and Gender and Global Politics enabling students to critically examine intersectionality, feminist political thought, public policy impacts, and global challenges including conflict, migration, and reproductive rights (5.1, 5.4, 5.5). Beyond the classroom, students contribute to activism and peer education through societies such as the Feminist Society and Women’s Network, which host campaigns, events, and dialogues on gender justice (5.1). The University also supports gender-diverse inclusion through the Trans and Non-Binary Peer Support Network, which provides safe spaces and helps shape inclusive institutional policies (5.1, 5.6). Staff development is reinforced by the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, embedding Education for Sustainable Development themes such as inclusive pedagogy and gender-responsive teaching, complemented by the Inclusive Curriculum Tool, to help staff audit and enhance inclusivity in course design and delivery (5.5). In 2025, the Learning & Teaching Conference featured dedicated sessions on inclusive curriculum design and gender representation in academic leadership, underlining the University’s commitment to embedding SDG 5 across education and student experience (5.5).

Sustainable campus and operations

The University promotes an inclusive workplace through robust policies and long-term commitments. Our Diversity and Equality and Bullying and Harassment policies, alongside a confidential Report + Support tool, safeguard staff and students and ensure a respectful campus culture (5.1). The Equality Objectives Action Plan further embeds gender equality into institutional governance, setting measurable goals for recruitment, retention, leadership, and representation across all staff and student communities (5.5). We support diverse lived experiences through active networks including the Endometriosis Network, Trans and Non-Binary Peer Support Network, Menopause Network, and the Female Early Career Researcher Network (5.1, 5.6). Our leadership is recognised nationally: in 2025, both the Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology and the Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences achieved Athena SWAN Gold Awards, complementing our institutional Silver Award (5.5). We continue to address structural inequalities, with the median gender pay gap narrowing to 15.28% and the mean gap declining to 19.60% in 2024, both improving year-on-year (5.5). Women are further supported through LivWiSE, Advance HE’s Aurora programme, and visible campus-wide celebrations during International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month.

Case studies

Addressing gender Inequalities in the North

In 2025, the University of Liverpool contributed to Woman of the North: Inequality, Health and Work, a landmark report produced with Health Equity North and over 70 academic and policy partners. The report provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of the systemic inequalities faced by women in the North of England, directly advancing SDG 5 (5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.c).

Findings reveal that women in the North live shorter, less healthy lives, earn significantly less than their counterparts in the South, and are more likely to experience domestic violence, mental illness, and imprisonment. Girls born in the North can expect up to six fewer years of healthy life, while women in the region lose out on £132 million in wages each week due to pay disparities. They also provide £10 billion annually in unpaid care, £2 billion more than if they performed the national average.

These stark inequalities are compounded by austerity, cost-of-living pressures, and unequal funding systems. The report sets out actionable recommendations for governments, health services, and local authorities to reverse deteriorating health outcomes, tackle domestic violence, and reduce economic insecurity.

Professor David Taylor-Robinson, lead contributor from the University of Liverpool, emphasised the urgent need for investment in preventative and support services to address these challenges.

By combining rigorous research with advocacy, the University of Liverpool is shaping national debate and catalysing policy reform to advance gender equality, health, and human rights for women across the UK.

Gender diversity on the board of directors in Latin America

University of Liverpool researchers identified that gender diversity has a positive impact on board effectiveness in Latin American companies. In Latin America, only 1 in 25 board directors are women. There are no regulations as in other countries to promote gender diversity in corporations. The research has influenced relevant stakeholders (i.e. gender equity groups, regulators and governmental organisations) towards achieving policy/legislative change in Corporate Governance Codes (the main vehicle that regulates corporate governance practices) to include the recommendation that boards should be gender diverse. The research considers the impact of country culture and traditions on the behaviour of Mexican firms. This research highlights that family firms and non-family firms diverge in their corporate objectives because family firms perceive patrimony as a means of safeguarding resources for heirs. The main finding suggests that family firms tolerate higher levels of risk than non-family concerns, consequently achieving higher corporate value. However, their risk preference is shaped based on non-financial reasons which distinguish the relevance of the regional setting. Focussing on Latin America, the research considers the significance of the culture and traditions to study whether gender diverse boards of directors are more effective in achieving corporate objectives, suggesting that the inclusion of women on the board goes beyond ethical concerns being also relevant from a business perspective (i.e. risk-taking), concluding that boards are more effective with the inclusion of female directors. Further research emphasises the benefits of gender diverse boards towards financing decisions in Latin American companies. The composition of boards of directors is directly concerned to their effectiveness but more importantly different kinds of boards are required in different situations to optimise financing decisions (e.g. family firms in Latin America).

Conference for Women and Non-binary Doctoral Researchers in STEM (WoNDRS)

The inaugural Women and Non-Binary PhD Researchers in STEM (WoNDRS) conference was held in July 2024 at the University of Liverpool. The event aimed to gather PhD researchers to celebrate the work of gender minorities in STEM and build community for the PhD students in attendance. The agenda included six talks and a panel session, and networking. The speakers and panellists included a mix of academic and industry representatives, from companies including IBM and Rolls Royce, with a range of experiences and career stages. By showcasing and celebrating the fantastic research happening in these different environments, conference attendees were given opportunity to consider their own career paths and hear about the variety of options available following their PhD studies. In addition to careers and research, the sessions highlighted issues faced by gender minorities working in STEM and discussed strategies to manage these challenges. The panel discussion focussed on open conversation between the panellists and audience, drawing on both personal and professional topics. In recognition of the impact of the event, organisers on behalf of the WoNDRS 2024 Committee received the Leslie Green Prize from the Department of Physics, awarded for “outstanding contributions to improving the culture in and/or beyond the Department of Physics”.

Challenging work-family decision making among working couples

Research co-authored by Dr. Laura Radcliffe from the University of Liverpool explored the persistence of traditional work-family decision-making in dual-earner couples, despite the growing prevalence of more egalitarian gender attitudes. Published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, the study examined how unconscious 'work-family habits' contribute to maintaining gendered roles in daily life. These habits include biases such as reality blindness, option blindness, and gendered competency traps, which simplify decision-making but often perpetuate traditional gender norms. The study found that even couples who considered themselves egalitarian often fell into patterns where women shouldered a disproportionate share of family responsibilities. For example, some couples believed they shared responsibilities equally, but discrepancies were revealed through daily diaries. These habits were reinforced by gender expectations, with men often perceiving certain tasks as primarily the woman’s responsibility or assuming their wives were more competent in managing family duties. However, the research also identified couples who adopted a more balanced approach, utilising regular communication and joint decision-making. These couples consciously avoided traditional gender roles by taking turns and valuing each other’s work. The study concluded that while these habitual biases simplify decision-making, a more deliberate and thoughtful approach to work-family decisions can help break traditional patterns, providing both partners with true choices in balancing their careers and family roles.

#Men4Change toolkit addressing harmful gender norms

The University of Liverpool launched the #Men4Change toolkit in 2023, aimed at addressing harmful gender norms and supporting young men in critically exploring masculinity. This educational resource, developed by the Department of Communication and Media through the #Lads on Social Media research project, helps youth leaders and professionals work with young men to understand the impact of gendered behaviours, both online and offline. The toolkit encourages young men to reflect on and challenge behaviours tied to sexual harassment, objectification, and the pressure of traditional masculinity. Research from the project revealed that harmful gender norms, like associating masculinity with sexual conquest and dominance, are linked to sexual and gender-based abuse, such as non-consensual sexting. The findings highlighted the need for interventions that engage men and boys in discussions that challenge toxic masculinity and promote healthier behaviours. The toolkit includes real-life scenarios, such as confronting harmful online behaviours, and offers practical tools to support positive cultural change. The initiative was developed in collaboration with community stakeholders like Metro, Beyond Equality, and Survivors Network. The toolkit is an essential resource for creating safer spaces and promoting gender equality by equipping young men to become active participants in dismantling harmful gender stereotypes.

Introducing the Liverpool Feminist City Network

The Liverpool Feminist City Network was launched in 2024 to offer a space for University of Liverpool researchers, policymakers and practitioners to connect and address the question of how we can live more justly in an urban world. The network is re-framing conversations on urban design, public space, public safety, governance, institutional design, and public policy and services to understand how to create cities that work better, not only for women, but for everyone. A ‘Feminist City’ is one which is human-centred and inclusive of marginalised groups, and this network considers how women experience and engage with the city, and harnesses debate and ongoing address ongoing challenges with this idea. The network has convened a series of networking events at the University, bringing together researchers working across a range of disciplines whose work in different ways engages with the idea of the Feminist City. The network meets regularly to share and profile research activity and provoke research connections and collaborations and is open to researchers and scholars (including doctoral students) across disciplines and Faculties. The gender bias built into the design of cities has had a negative effect on the lives of women around the world and designing cities that are responsive to the needs of women creates safer, healthier, fairer and more enriching places for all. Research emerging from the University has already had a global impact and the Feminist City Network is a significant opportunity to inspire new collaborations and research opportunities. Professor Catherine Durose and Dr Catherine Queen discussed feminist cities on the University’s Original Ideas podcast.