SDG 5 Gender Equality

In 2025 women made up 62% of students starting a degree and 63% of the degrees we awarded.

Our qualification completion rate for female students in 2025 was 70%, compared to 62% for male students (based on Tertiary Education Commission EPI data for 2025 for the full-time Level 7 degree cohort). Where there is a gender gap in student success, we have student learning initiatives in place to ensure equitable achievement.

53% of female applicants received unconditional offers in 2025 compared to 43% of male applicants.

The University of Waikato is committed to providing an inclusive environment free from discrimination and harassment. Our policies provide protection against discrimination on the basis of sex, gender and gender identity, supporting and promoting equality for our staff and student communities.

The University has a commitment to equality of opportunity in employment and education irrespective of sex, gender or gender identity. The Equal Employment Opportunity Policy (opens in a new tab) reinforces these commitments in relation to employment.

The University’s Rainbow Alliance (opens in a new tab) provides advice, support and advocacy for rainbow students, including transgender and gender diverse students.

The University also has a Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy (opens in a new tab) that does not tolerate discrimination or harassment in the workplace and specifies how such issues between staff and students should be managed. The Code of Student Conduct (opens in a new tab) also prohibits discrimination and harassment among students and across the University community.

The University of Waikato supports students and staff with childcare responsibilities through access to childcare facilities on the Hamilton campus. Campus Crèche (opens in a new tab) is a not-for-profit community-based early childhood service located on University of Waikato grounds and provides early childhood education and care to University staff, students and the local community. The service has operated on the University campus since 1973 and provides care for children across multiple age groups.

Campus Crèche provides an important childcare option for students and staff with young children, enabling them to participate in university life while accessing early childhood education and care close to the University campus. The University of Waikato recognises childcare responsibilities of students through its Children on Campus Policy (opens in a new tab), which applies to all University staff and students and acknowledges that staff and students may have childcare responsibilities while participating in university activities and sets out a framework for proper and safe supervision for children while on campus.

Students with children can also access the Library’s Whānau Room (opens in a new tab), a dedicated child-friendly study space where student parents can study while their children read, rest or play alongside them. Te Kōhanga Reo o Ngā Kuaka (opens in a new tab), located on the Hamilton campus, provides another early childhood education option for students, staff and the wider community. The kōhanga reo movement is a unique initiative based on total immersion in Māori language and values with the aim of passing on Māori culture to future generations.

The University of Waikato provides parental leave provisions that support women's continued participation in employment and enable fathers and other primary carers to participate in childcare. Academic and Professional Staff collective employment agreements provide parental leave in accordance with the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act and provide additional University-funded leave/pay for eligible employees.

The University's parental leave provisions apply to employees taking leave as primary carers, rather than being restricted to mothers. This supports fathers' and other primary carers participation in childcare and helps enable both parents to share caring responsibilities while maintaining their connection to employment. The University's Gender Equality Plan (opens in a new tab) also identifies parental leave as an important family-friendly measure supporting gender equality and women's participation in the workforce. 

Programme to support emerging women leaders

Since its launch in 2021, the Waikato Women in Leadership programme has helped emerging women leaders across the University develop leadership capabilities and enhance their networks. The year-long programme combines one-on-one mentoring, peer group mentoring and workshops on topics ranging from cultural leadership to communications and career planning.

Women leading resilience against climate change

Research by the University of Waikato found that women play a central role (opens in a new tab) in how resilient Tonga and Samoa will be to the impacts of climate change. The research engaged over 800 people, including female leaders of villages, academia, business and government, with many saying women are taking on new responsibilities such as physical work in the plantations, technical work in electrical infrastructure, captaining ferries and large container ships, and setting up new disaster preparedness groups, while the men in their villages travel overseas for long periods of time.