The University of Melbourne recently unveiled its proposed Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) for 2026-2030. The new GEAP will look to set targets for meeting gender equality objectives across a range of areas including gender pay, gender equality in academic leadership positions and the prevention and response to gender-based violence. 

The plan, submitted to the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector in May, meets the university's ongoing obligations under the Gender Equality Act 2020. 

A collection of results from the previous GEAP, the Workplace Gender Audit 2025 and staff consultation found that inequality at the university persists at an institutional level, most clearly with a gender pay gap of 9.5 per cent. Additionally, just 40 per cent of the university’s most senior academic rank, level E, are held by women. The new GEAP proposes goals to reduce the mean pay gap to 5 per cent or less and to achieve a gender balance of 45 per cent women, 45 per cent men and 10 per cent of any gender for academic level E. 

In renewing the plan, the university additionally acknowledged gender inequality as a precursor for gender-based violence, with the plan aspiring to “contribute to shifting the conditions that allow gender-based violence to occur.” Building upon earlier initiatives at the university, the new GEAP details next steps including the introduction of a confidential feedback mechanism for staff and students who’ve engaged in a sexual harassment complaint with the university and a commitment to annual improvements to mandatory gender-based violence modules currently in place. 

The extent to which these goals are successfully fulfilled will be measured against the alignment between reports of sexual harassment versus disclosures in surveys and whether staff and student feedback is in fact used to improve the disclosure process. For students, the plan also proposes more Gender Impact Assessments on major policies and programs. These assessments, required under the Gender Equality Act, structurally enforce the consideration of gender and intersectionality when introducing new policy at the university to further promote gender equality. Moreover, the plan announces more scholarships for women and gender-diverse staff, as part of efforts to address gender-segregated disciplines.

If approved by the commission, the plan will run until 2030, when the university’s progress will be reviewed ahead of a renewed GEAP for 2030-2034. 

Image Source: The University of Melbourne