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Gender equality

Sustainable Development Goals: Progress Report | Reporting Year 2025–26

1. Introduction & Institutional Commitment

Sustainable Development Goal 5 seeks to end discrimination and violence against women and girls, to value unpaid care and to secure women’s full participation and leadership. At a university these aims touch who is employed, who is heard, who is trained for public life and what research is produced.

JGU’s work on the goal combines workforce inclusion, institutions and scholarship. Women make up 48% of on-campus vehicle operators, and IMAANDAAR, the world’s largest moot court, places particular emphasis on empowering women lawyers. The University maintains a Committee on Gender Sensitization Against Sexual Harassment and an Anti-Discrimination Committee, backed by policies on women’s access and on non-discrimination against women. Jindal Global Law School and other schools lead research on abortion access, maternal health, care work, gender-based violence and women’s livelihoods, and 14 cross-listed electives, including one on Feminist Foreign Policy, bring the subject into the curriculum.

This report presents JGU’s progress, key initiatives and impact under SDG 5 across the following areas: ending discrimination, eliminating violence, valuing unpaid care, women’s participation and leadership, sexual and reproductive health, and economic resources.

2. Key Figures at a Glance

3. Research Progress in SDG 5

Research on gender equality at JGU has grown from a handful of publications in 2021 to about 180 in 2025. JGU’s SDG 5 research trend and India’s overall trend on this goal are both moderately improving. About 5.3% of JGU’s scholarly output contributes to SDG 5, many times the world average share for the goal.

Funded projects

Fellowship research. A publication by a Naveen Jindal Young Global Research Fellow examines knowledge, attitudes and practice towards media campaigns against gender-based violence among adults in Southwest Nigeria.

Policy influence. JGU research is cited in the UN’s World Survey on the Role of Women in Development 2024, “Harnessing social protection for gender equality, resilience and transformation”.

4. Policy & Governance

JGU maintains a Committee on Gender Sensitization Against Sexual Harassment (COGSHASH) and an Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). Its Policy on Women’s Access and its Policy on Non-Discrimination against Women set out how gender equality, non-discrimination and safety are protected at work and among students.

Policy objectives

• Ensure gender equality, non-discrimination and safety at work and among students.

• Maintain zero tolerance for sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation, under the POSH Act, 2013 and UGC norms, with confidential complaint registration, a preliminary response within two working days and support for survivors.

• Widen access for women across admissions, employment and leadership, with targeted outreach, scholarships, and a commitment to at least 33% women’s representation in decision-making bodies.

• Support women’s work and family life through crèche and daycare facilities, lactation rooms, maternity and parental leave and flexible arrangements.

• Empower underrepresented groups within the University, including through inclusive hiring.

Oversight & responsibility: COGSHASH oversees sexual harassment matters. The Anti-Discrimination Committee handles complaints of discrimination. The Office of Academic Governance and the Diversity Office lead the Policy on Women’s Access.

5. Progress Against Targets

Target 5.1: End discrimination against women and girls

Anti-Discrimination Committee and policy. The University’s Policy on Non-Discrimination against Women and its Anti-Discrimination Committee give women a confidential route to raise discrimination, with inquiries starting within two business days and protection from retaliation.

Research. Prof. Dipika Jain’s work on gender, class and national identity, and on transgender rights, addresses discrimination in India.

Target 5.2: Eliminate violence against women and girls

Committee on Gender Sensitization Against Sexual Harassment. COGSHASH provides statutory oversight, confidential complaint registration, a preliminary response within two working days, and psychological, academic and administrative support for survivors.

Zero Tolerance Day (6 February 2025). Led by Jindal Global Law School with support from Equality Now, UK.

Training on the POSH Act. JGU’s Jindal Institute of Leadership Development and Executive Education (JILDEE) has delivered POSH Act training for Power Grid Corporation of India. A one-day online session in January 2024 reached 520 participants, and capacity-building programmes followed in November and December 2025 for 28 and 30 participants.

Awareness and research. Fearless Friday events run by COGSHASH address gender sensitivity and harassment. Research on gender-based violence includes a fellowship study of media campaigns in Southwest Nigeria.

Target 5.4: Value unpaid care and domestic work

Research. A Reconsideration of Care (PI Ruchira Sen) examines gender-equal care for global health and wellbeing.

Support for caregivers. Under the Policy on Women’s Access, JGU offers paid maternity leave, parental leave, on-campus crèche and daycare facilities, lactation and wellness rooms and research tenure-clock extensions for primary caregivers.

Target 5.5: Women’s participation and leadership

Women drivers on campus. Women make up 48% of on-campus vehicle operators, a deliberate pairing of climate action with the empowerment of underrepresented groups.

IMAANDAAR: empowering women lawyers. The world’s largest moot court, inaugurated on 18 November 2025, places a focus on empowering women lawyers and on international engagement, supporting inclusive and representative decision-making.

Leadership pathways. The Policy on Women’s Access commits to at least 33% women’s representation in decision-making bodies and runs a Women’s Leadership Development Programme for mid-career faculty and administrators. Women make up 49% of JGU students.

Target 5.6: Sexual and reproductive health and rights

Confidential, gender-sensitive care. At the Health Centre, female doctors and nurses are available 24×7, and a specialist gynaecologist visits twice a week. Professional counsellors support students on sexual health, relationships and well-being, and workshops and campaigns cover contraception, STI prevention and consent.

Awareness. The Health Centre marked World Health Day 2025 with an advisory on women’s long-term health, including menstrual and reproductive health.

Menstrual waste. Dedicated segregation systems send menstrual waste to specialised facilities for sterilisation and conversion into recycled material.

Research. Prof. Dipika Jain’s work on access to safe abortion and maternal health services.

Target 5.a: Equal rights to economic resources

Livelihood research. Bordered but Not Broken studies women’s agency and livelihood resilience at the India–Bangladesh border.

Target 5.c: Sound policies for gender equality

Policy and research influence. The Policy on Women’s Access and the Policy on Non-Discrimination against Women are the University’s own enforceable frameworks. JGU’s research informs wider policy: the Haryana State Commission for Women funded Women Behind Bars, and the UN’s World Survey on the Role of Women in Development 2024 cites JGU’s work.

6. Programmes, Research & Curriculum

• 14 electives mapped to SDG 5. Spotlight: “Feminist Foreign Policy”.

• Research themes: access to safe abortion and maternal health services, gender, class and national identity, and transgender rights and queer identity in India (Prof. Dipika Jain, Jindal Global Law School); empowerment and challenges for women (Prof. Mohit Yadav); gender-based violence and intimate partner dynamics (Dr. Joseph Moyinoluwa Talabi).

• Fellowship publication: media campaigns against gender-based violence in Southwest Nigeria.

7. Community, Partnerships & Outreach

• Equality Now (UK): funded research partner for Zero Tolerance Day.

• Haryana State Commission for Women: funded research partner for Women Behind Bars.

• Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia: funded research partner for Bordered but Not Broken.

• Power Grid Corporation of India: partner for POSH Act training.

• Parindey: a student-founded forum that promotes LGBTQIA+ voices on campus.

• UN publications: JGU’s gender research is cited in United Nations publications.

8. Events & 91̽»¨ Timeline

In addition to the above, we also have the following:

Women's Day (8-10th March 2025). Women's Day was marked across campus from 8th to 10th March 2025 with a series of cultural events. The celebrations highlighted women's achievements and gave students a platform to engage with questions of gender equity.

Beyond Pink (9th March 2026). The JGBS Student Council organised Beyond Pink on 9th March 2026 as part of the Women's Day celebrations. Through a series of activities, the event encouraged students to look past stereotypes and engage with gender equity.

Yuvatī – Women's Entrepreneur Market (8-9th April 2026). Girl Up Society hosted Yuvatī, a women's entrepreneur market, on 8th and 9th April 2026. The market offered stalls to women entrepreneurs from marginalized communities, promoting women's economic participation and enterprise within the university community.

IRIS (2nd September 2026). Girl Up Society organised IRIS on 2nd September 2026, an esports event. Hosted by a society dedicated to gender equality, IRIS encouraged women's participation in gaming, a space where they are traditionally underrepresented.

Government School Bystander Intervention Workshop (22nd October 2026). On 22nd October 2026, Girl Up Society conducted a bystander intervention workshop at a government school as a community service initiative. The workshop gave school students practical tools to recognise and safely intervene in harassment, taking the university's commitment to gender safety beyond campus.

9. Future Commitments & Roadmap

JGU plans to deepen its civic engagement through long-term partnerships with residents, schools and non-profits, and to expand access to justice while supporting grassroots workers, as part of an inclusive mission built on equity and participation.

JGU advances gender equality through operations, institutions and scholarship together. Nearly half of its campus vehicle operators are women, IMAANDAAR gives particular attention to women lawyers, and a substantial body of gender-focused research, much of it from Jindal Global Law School, is cited by the United Nations. Research output on the goal has grown from a handful of papers in 2021 to roughly 180 in 2025, and the committees and funded projects behind it show a sustained institutional commitment.