SDG 5 - Gender Equality
Research
Dr Clare Qualmann, Associate Professor in the School of Arts and Creative Industries, is an artist-researcher whose work frequently explores walking as both medium and subject. In 2021-22, Dr Qualmann participated in the AHRC-funded project “Walking Publics / Walking Arts: Walking, Wellbeing and Community during COVID-19" in collaboration with researchers at the University of Glasgow.
Walking Publics / Walking Arts explored the potential of the arts to sustain, encourage, and equitably support walking during the pandemic and its aftermath. A key focus of this research was women's experiences of walking and the barriers faced – including harassment and sexual violence. The project conducted interviews with women about their experiences walking at night and the strategies they use to feel safe. Walking Publics / Walking Arts aimed to encourage cultural change and promote inclusive walking by supporting groups that enable and empower marginalised or oppressed communities. Dr Qualmann presented these findings at the University of Westminster's Safety for Women and Girls workshop in 2023.
Teaching
As part of UEL’s BA in Sustainable Development and Social Change, students can take the Gender, Power and Politics module, which explores gendered power relations within society’s political sphere. As part of the module, students take part in critical debates on key issues relevant to gender equality in the contemporary world and examine the unequal inclusion of men and women in the political realm. Seminars are a key component of this module, encouraging students to exchange ideas and explore concepts, policies and perspectives on gender.
Operations
UEL has held the Athena Swan Bronze award since 2017 and, in 2024, was awarded Silver in recognition of the University's commitment to, and success in, supporting gender equality. Operational initiatives such as the Staff Women’s Network, publicly available pay gap reporting, the annual EDI conference, and celebrations of events such as the UN's International Day of Women and Girls in Science demonstrate the University’s ongoing commitment to advancing gender equality.
Outreach
In June 2023, Professor M Siraj Sait, Director of Research at the Royal Docks School of Business and Law and Chair of UEL's Noon Centre for Equality and Diversity, hosted an expert group meeting of the Global Land Tool Network at UEL’s Docklands Campus. The meeting brought together 42 participants, including government officials, gender champions, representatives from civil society, academia, international organisations, and UN agencies across Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe, to discuss the empowerment of women and the promotion of gender equality through securing women's land rights. Secure land tenure and property rights are essential to individuals' access to housing and food security, as well as to the realisation of human rights, poverty reduction, and sustainable development. Achieving rights to access and control land and other productive resources is key to addressing global gender inequalities.