De Montfort University is a global academic hub chair and as such publishes a progress report on both the individual United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as a comprehensive report on all the goals.
Our 2025 report will show what the university has been doing in terms of research, teaching, partnerships and engagement in helping to meet those targets and raising awareness of the progress towards the 2030 aims.
This is the progress report for SDG 5 Gender Equality. The full report on all the SDGs can be viewed here.
UN PROGRESS REPORT ON SDG 5 in 2025
NONE of the targets for 2030 are expected to be met for SDG 5 with 40 per cent showing only marginal progress and a further 60% showing moderate progress.
The UN progress report for 2025 states: “Gender equality remains elusive. Despite progress, discriminatory laws and gender-based norms continue to hinder gender equality.
“Women remain underrepresented in decision-making and leadership roles and often lack autonomy over sexual and reproductive health, land rights and technology access.
“Women’s disproportionate share of unpaid domestic and care work continues to limit their access to education, career opportunities and political engagement, while harmful practices, such as child marriage and female genital mutilation, persist globally.”
MAJOR DMU NEWS ON SDG 5 IN 2025
DMU to host global summit for International Women's Day 2025
CAMPAIGNERS from across the world will gather to celebrate the role of women in pushing forward global sustainability.
To mark International Women’s Day 2025, leaders and experts from De Montfort University Leicester and its global partners around the world, will take part in a summit on Wednesday 5 March.
The debate will focus on the levels of gender equality still prevalent across the world, the role higher education can take in addressing it and the power equality has in enabling progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations.
"Quick-release" police hijab goes into production for frontline officers
A GROUND-BREAKING quick-release hijab for female police on the front line has gone into production with orders coming in from around the country.
The innovative design features an innovative magnetic quick-release system that allows the lower section to detach instantly if pulled during a confrontation, preventing the risk of strangulation while maintaining modesty and professional appearance.
The Blue Light Hijab®, created by Leicestershire Police in partnership with designers at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has been getting interest not only from other police forces but emergency services organisations, paramedics, the NHS and private sector for general workwear.
DMU academic joins new Government taskforce to break down barriers for women in technology
A DMU academic has been named as one of the founding members of a new Government taskforce set up to get more women into tech.
Dr Ismini Vasileiou, Associate Professor in Cyber Security at DMU and Director of the East Midlands Cyber Security Cluster, has been appointed to the Women in Tech Taskforce by Technology Secretary Liz Kendall MP.
DMU researcher among most influential women in AI ethics
AN ASSOCIATE Professor at DMU has been recognised as one of the most influential women working within Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulations and ethics.
Dr Kutoma Wakunuma, an Associate Professor in the faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media, has been named in the 2025 top 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics by Women in AI Ethics, a not-for-profit organisation that champions the representation and empowerment of women in AI.
Having co-authored two books, Dr Wakunuma is helping to shape AI policies in Zambia through a series of workshops with the African country’s parliament and policymakers.
DMU shortlisted four times in region's Enterprising Women Awards
FOUR women from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) have been named among the region’s most outstanding achievers in the shortlist for the 2025 Enterprising Women Awards.
The awards celebrate exceptional achievement by women across the East Midlands across nine categories ranging from social commitment to innovation.
DMU finalists are:
• Helen Donnellan, director of Research, Business and Innovation – leader of Team of the Year
• Sarah Thomson, Principal Partnership Officer – Social Commitment Award
• Dr Ismini Vasileiou – The Innovation Award
• Dr Dyneshia Johnson – The Innovation Award
MAJOR DMU RESEARCH ON SDG 5 IN 2025
Now you see them, now you don’t: Will technological advancement erode the gains made by women entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Irene, B., Onoshakpor, C., Lockyer, J. et al. (2025)
AS GLOBAL economic activity gains momentum post-COVID-19, assessing local economic recovery remains essential for shaping policies that foster inclusive growth.
In countries such as South Africa, which contends with enduring unemployment and significant inequality, cultivating economic resilience—particularly among Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDIs) and female entrepreneurs—is essential.
The pandemic highlighted the crucial importance of digital technology in business resilience, as digitally equipped enterprises adapted more efficiently.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-025-00392-x
Gender and the transition to Net Zero Transport
Budd, L. (2025)
THE United Nations has identified climate change and inequality (including gender inequality) as being two of the biggest challenges of the contemporary global era.
The global transport sector, which currently accounts for around a quarter of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, remains a long way from reaching its Net Zero target and largely fails to deliver gender inclusive services which recognise and meet the different mobility needs, priorities and services both between and within genders.
Gender and the transition to Net Zero Transport
Women's Broadcasting Histories and the Archive: National, Transnational and Transmedial Entanglements
Arnold, S., McCabe, J., Andrews, K., Badenoch, A., Baker, J., Ball, V., Hendriks, E., Jackson, V., Murphy, K., Sahu, I., Skoog, K., Terkanian, K and Warner, H. (2025)
THIS provocation details varied perspectives of the International Women’s Broadcasting Histories (IWBH) network on researching the role of women in broadcasting.
The conversational form allows us to roam across the topic widely, to express a range of discrete positions and distinct arguments, with the desire to bring dilemmas to the surface and explore their implications without reduction.
Responding with a series of interventionist statements around the issues and challenges of doing archival research into women’s work, we opt for retaining different viewpoints in a raw state, with the aim of provoking discussion about the methodological opportunities and limitations when working within and outside of archives.
https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020251330853
“It Is Not Possible to Balance It Easily”: A Phenomenological Study Exploring the Experience of Work–Family Conflict in Contemporary Chinese Society
Chen, S., Cheng, M.-I., Elqayam, S., and Scase, M. (2025)
THIS qualitative study aimed to explore the work–family conflict phenomenon in China, to extend our understanding of such a phenomenon experienced under a different cultural background outside of the West, and to help suggest the Chinese culturally specific variables (e.g., filial piety) related to the work–family conflict in China for future research.
A purposive sample of 16 Chinese employees was interviewed. Using Creswell’s phenomenological method, six themes and 17 sub-themes emerged through 297 significant statements.
https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16010063
SDG 5 Gender Equality