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UN Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 5: Gender Equality

2025 SDG report

The logo for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender equality
A diverse group of students is seated in a classroom setting. One student in the center of the image is smiling and appears engaged, while other students around her are focused on their own tasks, using laptops or mobile devices.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

Toronto Metropolitan University is committed to addressing issues surrounding gender equality and trans rights, and supporting and empowering women-identifying and 2SLGBTQ+ communities on campus. Our Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion (OVPECI) advocates for a community where the dignity of all members is respected and upheld. Our overall goal is to foster a human rights-centred campus culture and to meet the university’s values of equity, diversity and inclusion.

TMU ranked in the top 100 in the world for contributions towards gender equality (2025 THE Impact Ratings)

Proportion of TMU graduates who are female (2025): 58%

Graduation rate for female students (2025): 82.5%

In 2024-25, 50% of TMU’s incoming female students were from families in which no parent has completed a bachelor's degree or higher degree at university.

Our goals in action

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TMU continues to create an environment that actively removes barriers to participation, and is committed to supporting and celebrating its women-identifying and 2SLGBTQ+ communities in attaining academic achievement on a safe and inclusive campus. We foster partnerships, programs and initiatives that provide professional development and learning opportunities dedicated to empowering women and diverse students, faculty and staff.

  • Empowering Women in Academia @TMU is an initiative intended to encourage networking, cultivate pan-university cross-discipline collaboration through the sharing of ideas, and foster mentoring among women and diverse academic staff. The initiative includes events and presentations to engage women and diverse academic staff undertaking innovative, ground-breaking and equity-based initiatives in a variety of areas, including leadership, research, public service and administration, and women’s health.
  • The Chang School of Continuing Education offers a course series on Gender and Sexuality. Students explore critical and theoretical perspectives on gender and sexuality and choose from a variety of courses that deepen their understanding of the important interrelationships of gender, sexuality and society.
  • The Mastercard Emerging Leaders Cyber Initiative (ELCI) (external link)  at the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst is designed to empower women and non-binary leaders seeking to advance into executive-level positions in cybersecurity or related fields.
  • Offered through the School of Professional Communication, the Trans Studies and Communication course is a first-of-its-kind course that introduces students to trans issues through an intersectional approach to media analysis and gender studies. Students uncover how trans media production influences health communication and medical access narratives. Students analyze trans communication in the workplace, in visual culture, and in emerging media creation.
  • The iBEST Women in STEM summer internship (external link)  program offers selected female students from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science the chance to spend their summers working in iBEST-based research labs to advance biomedical innovation. These internships provide students with hands-on research experience while building their professional networks, learning from experts in their field and using state-of-the-art technology.
  • Female students at TMU continue to excel. In 2025, the graduation rate for female students was 82.5% (up from 80.9% in 2024), compared to the institution-wide total of 80%. Female students represented 58.5% of TMU graduates in 2025. In the incoming class in 2025-26, there were 4,323 female students, 4,321 male students, and 168 with another gender identity or none stated.

TMU researchers are creating evidence-based solutions for real-world transformation. Our faculty and students are willing to defy convention as they seek to make the world a better place for all. As a globally connected urban university, we believe that inclusive and collaborative approaches are essential to great research. To that end, TMU is committed to cooperation and partnerships with diverse communities, industry, stakeholders and government. TMU researchers are building on the success of these partnerships as we continue to forge new ones in research areas related to the promotion of gender equality.

  • TMU’s Centre for Sexual and Gender Minority People, known as HOPE (external link) , conducts community-engaged, interdisciplinary research to understand and promote the health of people who identify as members of a sexual or gender minority community. HOPE’s research studies the health of people who identify as gay, bisexual, lesbian, queer, pansexual, asexual and other sexual minority people; and the health of trans, genderqueer, non-binary and other gender minority people.
  • The Diversity Institute at the Ted Rogers School of Management is working on The Allyship: Women in Venture Capital research project. The study is aimed at helping understand current levels of women’s representation in the venture capital industry in North America, barriers to improving women’s representation in the industry, and ways to improve women’s representation in the industry.
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A major strength of our university comes from the diversity in our TMU community, which reflects the very essence of the Greater Toronto Area, the diverse, multicultural community we call home. Additionally, we recognize the issues surrounding gender equality and 2SLGBTQ+ rights, and we continue to focus on solutions to remove barriers. All students, staff and faculty are respected and appreciated as valuable members of the TMU community, and a commitment to equity is embedded in our everyday thinking and actions.

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A critical component of the student experience is the creation of accessible, inclusive and engaging learning environments for a diverse student population. This involves examining how learning occurs and using a range of teaching practices and spaces to engage students. Gender equality is a key part of TMU’s approach to the student experience, and we recognize that there are some subject areas in which women have traditionally been underrepresented. TMU and its faculties work to ensure that all students have the opportunity to thrive across all programs at the university.

  • The Faculty of Science has several groups that seek to support female students in science disciplines including math, physics and computer science.
  • The Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science’s Women in Engineering (external link)  community is dedicated to providing education and outreach for young women who are considering a rewarding career in engineering, and to promoting a supportive and inclusive environment in which women can pursue their engineering studies and careers barrier-free.
  • Through TMU’s Tri-Mentoring Program, students can find mentorship opportunities relevant to their equity-seeking groups, including Women in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and Muslim women. Students gain a safe space in which to explore their identity, gain community and learn more about the resources available to them.
  • In TMU’s Women in the House program, women-identifying and gender diverse students are given the unique opportunity to visit Ottawa, walking the halls of parliament and talking the talk with women leaders who are actively shaping the political landscape. As an experiential learning component of the for-credit course, the trip to Parliament Hill promotes meaningful engagement and invaluable networking with women Members of Parliament, Senators, and staff who are leaders and policymakers.

TMU is committed to supporting and celebrating its women-identifying population in attaining social, economic and academic achievement on a safe and inclusive campus. The university focuses on the strengths individuals bring to our community, honouring and learning from each person’s lived experiences. This includes creating welcoming, accessible and accommodating work, learning and social environments.

  • Consent Comes First is a resource available to both students and staff who have been affected by sexual violence and assault of all forms to gain a deeper understanding of their bodies, health and sexuality by connecting them to external resources like legal support and internal resources like workplace consideration, academic consideration and even a safe space to share their experiences without judgement.
  • The Positive Space Faculty & Staff Network is a volunteer-based group comprising employees of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions, committed to creating and maintaining a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment.
  • Every November, advocacy and educational events celebrate, honour and raise the visibility of the trans community during Trans Awareness Month.
  • The Centre for Women and Trans People (external link)  is a designated safe haven for self-identifying women and trans people to explore their gender and sexuality without prejudice. Some examples of steps taken by the university include the creation of Inclusive Signage and All Gender Washroom. 
  • Have a business idea but not sure where to start? Launchpad for Women Entrepreneurs (external link)  gives you the skills, tools and support to take your next step with confidence. Launchpad is for aspiring and early-stage women entrepreneurs from any industry who want to explore entrepreneurship, develop a business idea or build the foundations to launch and grow.
  • Badge Day is an annual event where universities across Canada invite Girl Guides to get first-hand experience with engineering concepts. As a proud participant in this important program, TMU welcomed dozens of Girl Guides in February 2025. Organized by the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science’s Teaching & Outreach Office, Badge Day is part of year-long programming designed to help address systematic barriers that prevent young women from pursuing an education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
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