First-generation students and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds are still poorly represented in higher education. But universities are working hard to rectify this, and the Impact Rankings are an indicator of which institutions are doing this successfully.
To compile this ranking, we mapped how universities around the world are committing to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs are a global call to action to tackle poverty, climate change and inequality.
The SDGs look to tackle some of today’s biggest global issues, and SDG 10 in particular covers reducing inequalities.
Some of the metrics that helped measure which universities are excelling at reducing inequalities were the number of first-generation students, the number of students from developing countries, the proportion of students and staff with disabilities, measures against discrimination and the amount of research a university undertakes on reduced inequalities. More information on the methodology can be found here.
These are the top five universities for reducing inequality:
1. RMIT University
RMIT University is committed to working across all the SDGs, and SDG 10 is no exception.
RMIT is conducting a number of research projects that explore inequalities in all aspects of society in Australia and beyond. One such project focuses on the liveability of Australian cities through analysing public transport systems, public open spaces, housing affordability, walkability, employment and food and alcohol environments.
2. University of Huddersfield
The University of Huddersfield has implemented a range of anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies for students and staff.
The university offers mentoring, counselling and peer support to members of the university community: for example, with care-experienced students through the work of care-leaver support coordinators, or among staff through the work of diversity champions and the networks for BAME, LGBTQI+, female and disabled staff.
3. London South Bank University
London South Bank University collaborates with local boroughs to tackle social concerns.
It has partnerships with the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark to develop training and development programmes for local residents and to help small businesses grow.
The university’s Centre for Social Justice and Global Responsibility conducts research and brings together experts in a range of areas including access to justice, crime, disability, human rights, migration and sustainability, working to ensure understanding and inclusiveness.
4. Aalborg University
Aalborg University conducts a range of research projects related to tackling inequalities, looking into social housing, language inequalities, policies for refugees and much more.
The university has three research units dedicated to researching inequalities.
5. Sheffield Hallam University
Staff and students at Sheffield Hallam University regularly take part in volunteering and community projects. This includes local organisations, charities and student-led projects.
The university’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice is a leading centre for social justice and human rights. Its central values are those of widening access to justice and education, the promotion of human rights, ethics in legal practice, equality and a respect for human dignity in overcoming social injustice.
The top 100 universities for reducing inequality
October 2024: After the publication of the Impact Rankings 2024, we identified errors in some universities’ evidence scores. In line with our corrections policy, the affected universities’ scores were recalculated.As per THE’s rankings correction policy, the amendments made only affect the universities in question. We do not rerun the complete ranking. All other universities maintain their original rank. This article was updated to reflect the new scores. More information on the changes can be found here.
Editor’s note: As part of our THE statement on Ukraine published on 2 March 2022, Russian universities have been given less prominence in our rankings. Russian universities that met the criteria for this ranking are not displayed in the table above.
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