In 2018-2019, over half of students enrolled in higher education were women. The amount of women in the workforce is also steadily increasing, with 60% of those classed as "essential workers" being women. Despite this, women were 5 percentage points more likely to lose their jobs due to the covid pandemic. There are systematic issues of discrimination in our society, and this transfers to our own university.
In 2017 pay gaps of up to 15% were found between female and male lecturers and there are still gender differences in certain subjects (maths, computer science etc). The Athena SWAN committee have done well to address this, but they need to do more. As student officer for women I will do everything in my power to ensure women feel safe and supported at university and receive equal opportunities to their male counterparts.
In addition to academically, women deserve to feel safe around the university and in their housing. Women are too often scared to walk home at night alone. I want to make queens a safe space for women (and all students) by implementing more safety measures on campus. I also intend to impliment a landlord rating scheme so that female students can feel safe and supported in their homes.