Top universities for tackling gender equality 2023

Explore the top 100 universities for gender equality based on data collected for the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings

June 1 2023

Gender equality is one of the key challenges facing society today. Across the world, it manifests in many forms, including pay, employment opportunities and access to education.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) look to tackle some of today’s biggest global issues, and SDG 5 addresses the issue of gender equality.

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As part of the Impact Rankings, Times Higher Education has produced a ranking focusing on how universities are contributing to gender equality. Some of the measures looked at are research on gender, policies on gender equality, commitment to recruiting and promoting women, the proportion of first-generation female students and student access measures. You can read more about the methodology here.

Top five universities for gender equality

1. Western Sydney University

Western Sydney University was named an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency. The institution has held this title for the past 21 years.

Western is also dedicated to combating sexual violence on campus through the development of a respectful relationships education programme to be implemented across the Australian university sector.

A Gender Equity Strategy and Action Plan has been implemented to focus on the areas where gender equality can be improved. One of the key aims of the plan is to support the university’s efforts in recruiting, retaining and helping female staff advance. Other measures that have been introduced in response to the plan are improved breastfeeding facilities on campus, additional leave for staff experiencing domestic violence, and the development of a Gender Equality Policy.

2. University of Bologna

The University of Bologna has a gender equality plan with a range of aims, including promoting a work-life balance, pursuing a gender balance in senior positions, gender equality in recruitment and career development, promoting gender and intersectionality in research and combating gender-based violence.

There are a number of courses that look at gender equality at the university, as well as a range of initiatives, including the seminar on male violence against women.

3. University of Malaya

The University of Malaya’s gender studies programme was established in the mid-1990s and was the first in Malaysia to offer undergraduate students the chance to study gender studies.

The programme covers many gender-based issues in society including gender stereotypes, gender-based violence and discrimination at work.

The university also offers a master’s programme in gender studies that provides students with the opportunity to continue conversations and campaign towards gender equality in Malaysia.

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4. Manipal Academy of Higher Education

Manipal Academy of Higher Education promotes gender equality by providing women with equal access to education and providing a safe campus for them to study.

The university hosts research seminars on topics such as female mental health, women and law, and public health policies for women in India. Research projects at the university include looking at safe digital spaces for women, family planning and fertility rates.

=5. Government College Women University Faisalabad

Government College Women University Faisalabad has introduced a range of measures to support female staff and students. For female students the university has provided on-campus accommodation, transport and sports facilities.

For female staff the university has promised equal pay and equal opportunity.

The university also organises a range of events and activities to raise awareness of gender equality.

=5. Lahore College for Women University (LCWU)

Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) is the second Pakistani university to feature in the top five for SDG 5.

The university has mentoring schemes for women in the careers centre and the entrepreneurship centre.

The university also has a range of progress initiatives such as parental leave and harassment complaint cells to combat gender inequality.

Top universities for gender equality 2023: Top 100

Gender equality Rank 2023	University	Country/region
1	Western Sydney University	Australia
2	University of Bologna	Italy
3	University of Malaya	Malaysia
4	Manipal Academy of Higher Education	India
=5	Government College Women University Faisalabad	Pakistan
=5	Lahore College for Women University (LCWU)	Pakistan
7	Thammasat University	Thailand
8	Dublin City University	Ireland
=9	University of Haifa	Israel
=9	National and Kapodistrian University of Athens	Greece
11	University of Auckland	New Zealand
12	Central Queensland University	Australia
13	University of Gdańsk	Poland
14	University of Pretoria	South Africa
15	Fatima Jinnah Women University	Pakistan
16	University of Desarrollo	Chile
=17	University of Indonesia	Indonesia
=17	University of Johannesburg	South Africa
19	University of Bucharest	Romania
20	Alisher Navo’i Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature	Uzbekistan
21	American University of the Middle East	Kuwait
22	Mae Fah Luang University	Thailand
23	University of Worcester	United Kingdom
=24	Auckland University of Technology	New Zealand
=24	University of Girona	Spain
26	Towson University	United States
27	University of Newcastle	Australia
=28	University of Essex	United Kingdom
=28	University of Guadalajara	Mexico
=30	University of L’Aquila	Italy
=30	Sapienza University of Rome	Italy
32	Trinity College Dublin	Ireland
=33	Al Ain University	United Arab Emirates
=33	Universiti Teknologi MARA	Malaysia
35	Massey University	New Zealand
36	Monash University	Australia
37	Charles Sturt University	Australia
=38	Londrina State University	Brazil
=38	Mahidol University	Thailand
40	Victoria University of Wellington	New Zealand
41	Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis	United States
=42	IPB University	Indonesia
=42	Khon Kaen University	Thailand
=42	University of Tunis El Manar	Tunisia
45	Chiang Mai University	Thailand
46	Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham	India
47	University of Cape Town	South Africa
=48	Université Laval	Canada
=48	Middlesex University	United Kingdom
=48	Universiti Sains Malaysia	Malaysia
=51	Ewha Womans University	South Korea
=51	University of Waikato	New Zealand
=53	University of Bari Aldo Moro	Italy
=53	Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam	Netherlands
=55	University of Coimbra	Portugal
=55	La Trobe University	Australia
=55	University of the West of England	United Kingdom
=55	York University	Canada
59	Arizona State University (Tempe)	United States
=60	Hacettepe University	Turkey
=60	London South Bank University	United Kingdom
62	Instituto Politécnico de Bragança	Portugal
=63	University of Canberra	Australia
=63	Florida Atlantic University	United States
=63	National University of Córdoba	Argentina
66	Universitas Airlangga	Indonesia
=67	Lynn University	United States
=67	Institut Mines-Télécom Business School	France
=69	Bangor University	United Kingdom
=69	University of East London	United Kingdom
=69	University of Montreal	Canada
=72	University of Jaén	Spain
=72	University of Lleida	Spain
74	Texas State University	United States
75	University of Maryland, Baltimore County	United States
76	Free University of Berlin	Germany
=77	Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB)	Chile
=77	NOVA University of Lisbon	Portugal
=79	Catholic University of Portugal	Portugal
=79	Maynooth University	Ireland
81	Universita IULM	Italy
82	Queensland University of Technology	Australia
=83	University of Padua	Italy
=85	Complutense University of Madrid	Spain
=85	Indiana University South Bend	United States
=87	Queen’s University	Canada
=87	Srinakharinwirot University	Thailand
=87	University of Tasmania	Australia
=87	The Women University Multan	Pakistan
=91	SOAS University of London	United Kingdom
=91	University of Victoria	Canada
=91	University of Wollongong	Australia
=94	Indiana University East	United States
=94	University of Limerick	Ireland
=94	Western University	Canada
=97	Glasgow Caledonian University	United Kingdom
=97	Vietnam National University, Hanoi	Vietnam
=99	University of Rijeka	Croatia
=99	RMIT University	Australia

View the full ranking for gender equality here

Editor’s note: As part of our THE statement on Ukraine published on 2 March 2022, Russian universities have been given less prominence in our rankings. Russian universities that met the criteria for this ranking are not displayed in the table above.