About Gender Equality
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Our work on SDG Goal 5: Gender Equality
We work towards the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 5 - Gender Equality, to create a better and fairer world.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in 2015 by all United Nations member states. It provides a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.
Find out more about our work across all the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
Research
AIDS campaigning between the Global South and Western Europe
This project, led by Dr Nikolaos Papadogiannis, shows the unexplored importance of AIDS campaigns that have been going on in the Global South since the 1980s for relevant group action in Western Europe and shows how campaigners in the Global South and between the Global South and the Global North are connected, while taking into account their geopolitical limits.
Enabling the Forgotten Women of Scotland
In collaboration with academics from the University of Strathclyde, Enabling the Forgotten Women of Scotland: Potential Entrepreneurs for the Future focused on improving life chances and opportunities for two groups of vulnerable women – those with criminal convictions and those who have been subjected to domestic violence. The project used entrepreneurship as a lens to educate, mentor, and support those coming out of the justice system and those who were victims of domestic abuse to (re-)integrate them into communities and the economy. The aim was to demonstrate that entrepreneurship can help overcome economic and social barriers for these vulnerable women.
Learning and teaching
Gender Studies
The University’s MSc Genders and Sexualities eqips students with skills in gender and sexuality research, underpinned by feminist and queer theory. Students study gender, queer practices and identities in various disciplines, including media/film studies, history, literary studies, sociological analysis and curation theory.
The course covers gender and sexual practices and identities globally. Students benefit from the wide range of connections available through the University for work placement opportunities with some of the leading feminist organisations and organisations advocating LGBTQ+ rights across the third sector.
Gender and diplomatic practice
This programme allows students to explore diplomacy through a gender-inclusive lens, delivered in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Students learn about global gender identities and their importance in diplomacy. Diplomats discover how to create gender-inclusive environments when dealing with international conflicts. Additionally, they engage with local communities to empower women and nonbinary individuals.
SVLMO officers
The University and Students' Union have specially trained a group of staff as Sexual Violence Misconduct Liaison Officers. This means that they are trained in taking disclosures and supporting people who have been affected by sexual violence. They will listen empathically to students without judgement. The SVMLO will provide them with information on their options if they have been affected by sexual violence in any way, even if not directly impacted.
University operations
Gender Studies Scholarship
These scholarships are to support students with diverse life experiences which have marked their journey to postgraduate study.
White Ribbon Scotland
White Ribbon Scotland is an educational organisation that aims to encourage reflection and discussion that leads to personal and collective action among men to end violence against women. They state that most men do not commit violence against women, but all men have a role in ending it. The University joins key organisations across the region, under the umbrella of the Stirling Gender-Based Violence Partnership, in supporting the campaign. The endorsement also represents another step in the delivery of the joint University and Students’ Union strategy to prevent and tackle gender-based violence.
Professor Sir Gerry McCormac, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Stirling is leading the University’s commitment to the campaign as a White Ribbon Scotland Ambassador.
Athena Swan
The University of Stirling is proud to hold an institutional Athena Swan Silver award, recognising our commitment to advancing gender equality across the university. The Athena Swan Charter provides a comprehensive approach for institutions to assess their gender equality practices, identify areas for improvement, and implement positive changes.
Aurora Women in Leadership
In support of the University’s commitment to promoting leadership development and career progression for women, the University commits to funding a spaces on the Aurora programme each year. While most leadership programmes are aimed at leaders and managers already in role, Aurora is designed to enable a wide range of women, in academic and professional roles in higher education, to engage with leadership development at an earlier stage in their careers. Since 2018, 83 female employees have received funding to attend Advance HE’s Aurora Women in Leadership programme.
Civic engagement
Women in Business
The University's Enterprise Team has worked collaboratively with Robert Gordon University (RGU) and the University of West of Scotland to pilot scaled delivery of RGU's established Women in Business entrepreneurial skills programme. This seven-week online programme was designed to support women with children considering starting their own business as a flexible means of income and aims to empower women with parental responsibilities by widening access to pre-start entrepreneurial support. This collaboration saw the University deliver Women in Business for a cohort of participants based in Stirling and Clackmannanshire.
International Women’s Day Panel
Each year in collaboration with the Careers Service and the Be Connected Programme, the Enterprise programme hosts a public discussion panel in celebration of International Women’s Day. The discussion panel aims to provide inspiration and bring together members of the university community with the wider community to showcase and discuss outstanding examples of female leadership and women-led businesses with EDI initiatives. In 2024, 35 attendees benefitted from learning about best practice to drive Gender Equality in all areas of life and business.