Gender Equality Annual Report

It is my pleasure to present the tenth edition of the University of Bologna’s Gender Equality Report (2025 edition), which continues to serve as an essential tool for integrating a gender perspective into all the policies of our University.

The Gender Equality Report is a valuable document that captures the complexity of the University of Bologna's community, reflecting both its distinctive diversity and highlighting persistent inequalities and guiding targeted policies and initiatives. These efforts contribute to achieving one of the four core principles of the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan: "Promoting equity, sustainability, inclusion, and respect for diversity in every field."

This year’s Report again highlights the breadth and depth of initiatives introduced to promote equity and inclusion. Foremost among these are actions to raise awareness and combat gender-based violence, aimed at fostering an increasingly respectful and safe academic environment for all those who study and work at our University. On the communication front, numerous activities have also been launched, supported by awareness-raising initiatives designed to challenge cultural norms and counter gender stereotypes.

Above all, however, this Report provides data on the gender gap within our University. The figures show a gradual, albeit slow, improvement. Much work remains to be done: we must continue to translate our commitment into measures capable of overcoming prejudices, norms, and attitudes that still prevent a decisive reduction in inequities and inequalities—as demonstrated by the data on women’s representation in career progression.

The 2025 Report confirms the persistence of the so-called leaky pipeline effect, a complex phenomenon that compels us to intervene at various stages of the academic path and in specific scientific and disciplinary areas where the female presence progressively diminishes. Meanwhile, “horizontal segregation” remains virtually unchanged, particularly within the student community, where there is a strong male predominance in STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and a strong female predominance in the Humanities, Arts, and Education.

Within the student community, women not only remain numerically predominant but also achieve greater consistency in their studies, earn credits more quickly than their male peers, and obtain higher grades, as documented by degree results. However, this trend of stronger academic performance among female students is narrowing, and data from the coming years will indicate whether this convergence continues.

As regards professional staff—where women represent the majority (66%)—vertical segregation is relatively limited. However, women continue to show a greater burden of care responsibilities, as evidenced, for example, by the higher number of parental leave requests and absences due to children’s illnesses.

Our University is still affected by gender inequalities, partly due to external factors like caregiving responsibilities, which mostly fall on women, but also due to aspects of our institutional culture. We must keep developing tools and critical knowledge, supporting both long-standing and emerging rights, and listening to the community. And we must continue to take responsibility for the impact our principles can have on the region, on the lives of those we educate, and on the sustainability of our shared future, when translated into concrete actions.

It is with this collective commitment that I present the findings of the University of Bologna’s Gender Equality Report 2025.

Giovanni Molari
Rector Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna