SDG5 reports – The contribution of universities to gender equality and women’s empowerment

In 2022, UNESCO IESALC and Times Higher Education published a two-parts report on the contribution of universities to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: gender equality.  

This report included a literature review of good practices at university level and at government policies level, further complemented by case studies of five universities from different world regions. The report also analysed the results of the THE Impact indicators for SDG 5 across world regions.

The first part focused on the analysis of the SDG 5 impact indicators and the case studies. 

The second part focused on the literature review of university good practices and government policies, as well as further data analysis from the impact indicators, and providing recommendations to universities and policymakers. 

These reports were presented in the World Higher Education Conference (video recording of the presentation).

Other recent publications by UNESCO IESALC on the topic of gender in Higher Education include:

• Towards Universal Access to Higher Education: International Trends (2020).
• Women in higher education: has the female advantage put an end to gender inequalities? (2021)
• The participation of women in Eastern Africa’s HEIs (March 2022).
• Policy brief: The representation of women in academia and higher education management positions (2023).