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Sex (Gender): Resources & Support

What is 'Sexism'? 

'Sexism' is founded on the perceived difference between men and women as justification for their differential treatment. Sexism dangerously perpetuates harmful stereotypes for both men and women and can sustain the constructed gender hierarchy, further trapping women in gender inequality.  

Discrimination of any kind based on sex is prohibited under Equality Act 2010 and is not tolerated at St Mary's. St Mary's has zero tolerance for sexism in our community. 

Sex is a protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.  

Our aim is to ensure that everyone regardless of their gender can thrive during their time at St Mary’s. We have a range of policies, activities, and resources in place to support this aim.

Any student or member of staff who has been affected by discrimination, bullying, harassment, violence, or hate crime is encouraged to visit our Report & Support pages for staff and for students for detailed information about their options.

The following resources have been curated in relation to Sex - a protected characteristic under Equality Act 2010.

St Mary's has demonstrated its commitment to gender equality through our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) agenda as is outlined in our People Strategy; and through our membership to Advance HE's Athena Swan Charter. Our self-assessment team are currently working hard as we prepare for our Athena Swan Bronze Award Submission. 

In compliance and support of The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017, St Mary's is aware of the gender pay gap in our institution and we are consistently monitoring our progress and working towards equality. Closing the gender pay gap at St Mary's is imperative to our efforts to address gender inequality at St. Mary’s.  

St Mary's Gender Pay Gap Report 2019 shows that; since 2018, the overall mean pay gap has increased by 2.75% to 17.89%, and the median pay gap has increased by 1.81% to 20.96% in favour of male staff. The mean bonus pay has been in favour of females previously and remains so. Female bonus pay is still greater by 15.51%. 

To help drive forward our efforts to improve gender equality at St Mary’s, we are a proud member of Advance HE’s Athena SWAN Charter. The charter serves as a helpful framework as we seek to interrogate and improve existing structures that may prohibit St Mary’s from achieving true gender equality. As part of joining the Charter, St Mary’s has committed to 10 Key Principles which will underpin our efforts to improve our policies, practices, action plans, and culture. 

Under the leadership of Dr Jane Chambers, Head of School of Education, a self-assessment team (SAT) of staff and students from across the university has been assembled to lead our efforts to address gender inequality at St. Mary’s.  

Learn more about our work with Athena SWAN by visiting our Equality Charters at St Mary's webpage. [James – can you please link to that page once it's created?]  

To join our Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team (SAT) or find out about more ways to get involved, please email equalitycharters@stmarys.ac.uk.  

  • Get involved with the Student Union's SIMMIE Girls Can campaign 
  • Seek support from a trained counsellor in our Student Wellbeing Service. 
  • Seek support from a member of our St Mary's Student Union student officer team. 
  • There is currently no students’ women’s network, though we would be really happy to support you in setting one up!
  • Students looking for urgent support are encouraged to contact St Mary’s counselling services or University Security (020 8240 4060).