Equity in Higher Education

Western Sydney University is a global leader in equity and diversity and has a wide range of supports and resources to assist students and staff in achieving equal access and opportunity across all aspects of their learning and working experiences.

Student Commencement and Completion at Western

In an effort to promote and embed a gender-aware and gender-responsive culture at Western, the University tracks and monitors a range of student data, disaggregated by gender. This data assists the University in identifying possible areas of emerging disparity and helps to inform future strategic and practice directions for the University. At current 59% of our student cohort are women. The tables below reflect student enrolment, commencement and completion data at Western from 2018 to 2022.

Supporting Equity Across the Student Lifecycle

A range of supports is available to our students to encourage and support equal opportunity and engagement in higher education for all genders in key gender equity focus areas.

Student Collectives, Groups, and Networks

There is a range of student groups that act in advocacy and support roles for our students with specific consideration of gender equity issues.

• The Women’s Collective provides support for women on a social, political, and cultural platform and engages in discussions and activities that will further develop women's status in society. The Collective also engages in events that support women that come from a background of violence whether it's sexual, mental, physical, or emotional in nature.
• The Queer Collective is for students identifying as LGBTIQ. This collective aims to help provide peer support, resources and a safe space to sexuality and gender diverse students and those who are grappling with questions or issues relating to identifying as LGBTIQ.
• The Student Parent Union (SPU) is a group of interested students parents which seek to provide a network to support, advocate and share ideas with other students who are juggling work/study/parent/carer responsibilities.
• The Ally Network is a group of students and staff across the University who are committed to creating an inclusive and respectful culture at the University for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) community members. you can find out more about this Network and how to get involved on the Ally Network webpage.

You can find out more about the above groups or join by searching the group title on the WesternLife platform.

Safe and Supportive Spaces for Women and Gender Diverse Students

The University also provides a number of safe and supportive spaces on all of our campuses including our Women’s rooms, Queer rooms, and Breastfeeding spaces. Room locations details can be found on the Collectives and the Breastfeeding webpages.

Study and Counselling Support

Counseling and Welfare support services are available to all our students. Students who are being impacted by matters such as parent or caring responsibilities, issues of domestic and family violence, gender-based violence, disability, cultural considerations, or other significant life events may be able to access support or disruption to study provisions to assist them in progressing and sustaining their study.

Contact the Counselling or Welfare teams for advice and information.

Respectful Relationships Program

The Respectful Relationships team works to promote respect, equity, and inclusion across the University with the aim of ending sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence and creating a safer community for our students and staff.

Find out more about respectful relationships initiatives and how to get involved here.

Gender Equity Advocacy, Policy, and Research

• The Vice-Chancellor’s Gender Equity Committee oversees the implementation of gender equity strategy and policy at the University and informs decision making.
• The University is a leading signatory of the Joint Sector position statement on Preserving Gender Equity As A Higher Education Priority During And After Covid-19.
• The Western Sydney University Statement of Support for the Rights of Sexuality and Gender Diverse People encourages students and staff to sign up and help ensure sexuality and gender-diverse individuals and their families in the Western Sydney University community and beyond have the same rights, dignity, and support as the general population.
• The Vice-Chancellor’s Gender Equity Fund provides funding for research and initiatives which support and promote improved gender equity across the University.
• The Sexualities and Genders Research Group brings together academics from across the university with expertise in sexualities and genders and encompasses research with sexualities and/or genders elements, including feminist and queer research.

Gender Equity in Higher Education during COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reshaped our society. In the rush to manage this health and economic crisis, it became increasingly apparent that there would be a gendered impact extending beyond the initial crisis period. The United Nations’ Secretary General António Guterres brought attention to the gendered impact of COVID-19 on 10 April 2020, calling for urgent and immediate action. He stated that the pandemic is having “devastating social and economic consequences for women and girls” and urged governments and institutions to put gender issues at the centre of COVID-19 responses.

Early analysis confirmed the need to address indicators that women are facing deep social and economic effects from the pandemic (e.g., UN Policy Brief, The Lancet, and Broad Agenda). Both the UN and the Australian Human Rights Commission have indicated that the impact of the COVID 19 experience on women stands to undo decades of progress towards gender equality and posed an amplified risk of gendered violence.

One of the many challenges the COVID-19 global pandemic created for the tertiary education sector was ensuring that the significant advancements in gender equity were not lost amid the crisis.

In the face of this challenge, Western Sydney University led  a group of senior equity practitioners from across Australian universities in the development of a joint sector position statement, committed to preserving and prioritising gender equity across the sector. The University is committed to considering the impact on women when planning our short, medium and long-term responses to COVID-19.

Read a media statement about the joint sector position.