The University of Liverpool employs more women than men

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that the University of Liverpool employ more women than men.

The request confirms that 54.4% of university employees identify as female, and 45.6% as male. This figure encompasses employees on every level, and although a role-by-role breakdown is not available, it marks a positive culture for the university, which other higher education institutions would do well to pay attention to.

A University of Liverpool spokesperson said:

"The University of Liverpool is firmly committed to gender equality and has seen a number of important improvements in this area. For example, our work to improve transparency around the academic promotion process and investment in leadership training for female staff has led to an increase in the proportion of female professors from 18% in 2012 to 26% in 2018.

"Although some activity is specific to supporting female staff where they are underrepresented, a number of our initiatives aim to improve working life for both men and women and ensure that we are an attractive employer to potential new staff. For example, we work to ensure the University is a family friendly employer through initiatives such as a Shared Parental Leave package in line with our maternity pay package and paid time off for fertility treatment for both partners."

Whilst the news can be generally considered positive, not everyone believes that the University fulfilled their moral obligations. The University of Liverpool's Feminist Society believes that the university's equality problem is "far from solved". Speaking exclusively to The Tab, a FemSoc spokesperson stated that:

"Whilst it's great that 54.4% of University of Liverpool employees are women, we must remember the problem is far from solved. According to the university's most recent equality and diversity report, 84.27% of employees are white. Only 0.98% identify as gay. Only 3% have a disability. The university's most recent gender pay gap report highlights how the mean pay gap is 24.57% (the UK national average is 17.4%). The same report highlighted how when looking at what kind of jobs in the university female employees have, they are disproportionately clerical and manual (e.g. cleaning), whilst they are underrepresented in areas such as research. Unfortunately, the university still has a lot to work on in terms of diversity, fairness and accessibility."

Whilst clearly many do not see these figures as progressive enough, we commend the university for ensuring that they employ a fair amount of women. We hope they will continue to implement policy enabling them to further their commitment to diversity and equality.