Gender Equality
According to the United Nations, which has gender equality as one of its Sustainable Development Goals:
"Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and, therefore, also half of its potential. Gender equality, besides being a fundamental human right, is essential to achieve peaceful societies, with full human potential and sustainable development."
UNICEF research shows that one in four girls aged between 15-19 are neither employed, nor in education and training, compared with one in ten boys.
In this section of our guide, you'll find information resources which focus on feminism and gender equality from different perspectives, including history, politics, society, arts and culture, science and more.
Please explore the resources we've curated in this section, including our reading list, and do submit your suggestions.
FOCUS on Women's Suffrage
Reading List
Take a look at our EDI Reading List for Gender Equality.
Please get in touch if you have any recommendations to add to this list - whether already available in the Library or not!
Archives and Special Collections
The Library has access to several archives, both in its own Special Collections and Archives, as well as digitised collections, which cover subjects relating to gender, feminism, women's rights and related topics.
We've curated a list below, together with information about major archives and collections held elsewhere (some of which are available online). Materials in these archives cover centuries of history, and include letters, images, data, interviews, campaign materials and much more, often offering fascinating first-hand insights into lives and events. Contextual information and essays are often provided to help with interpretation.
Suffragist marching banner (Ethel Williams Archive)
- Bell (Gertrude) ArchiveGertrude Bell was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist, who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making, due to her knowledge and contacts, built up through extensive travels in Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia. Along with T. E. Lawrence, Bell helped support the Hashemite dynasties in what is today Jordan, as well as in Iraq, and she played a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq. Notably, Bell was an opponent of women’s suffrage.
- Cowen (Joseph) TractsThe Cowen Tracts are almost two thousand pamphlets which were formerly owned by local (radical) M.P., Joseph Cowen (1829-1900). The tracts date mostly from the mid- to late-Nineteenth Century and reflect Cowen's interest in the social, educational, political and economic issues of the day. The subject of Women’s Rights is well represented in the tracts.
- Exhibition: the Anti-Suffrage AnomalyExplore how privilege can defy the restrictions of gender and society using material from the Gertrude Bell Archive. Produced by an English Literature student as part of the 'Exhibiting Texts' module.
- Exhibition: the North's Forgotten Female ReformersInspired by the 2018 centenary celebrations of women’s suffrage, this online exhibition uncovers the involvement of Northern women in movements which fought for change and reform throughout the UK, as illustrated with the use of items from Newcastle University Library's Special Collections and Archives.
- Plowden (Lady Bridget) ArchiveLady Plowden held a number of high-profile public roles in the spheres of education reform and television broadcasting, most notably as Chairman of the Central Advisory Council for Education (England), 1963 – 1967, Vice-Chairman of the BBC Board of Governors, 1970 – 1975, and Chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority, 1975 – 1980. A large and varied number of public roles followed, many of which retained this focus on primary and pre-school education reform, as well as the promotion of high-quality television broadcasting.
- Tonks (Rosemary) ArchiveRosemary Tonks was born in 1928 in Gillingham, Kent. Between the early 1960s and 1970s, Rosemary became strongly involved in London's literary scene, being one of the few women poets to be published at the time, and writing reviews for leading journals and newspapers. She published two collections of poetry to great critical acclaim in the 1960s: Notes on Cafes and Bedrooms (1963) and Iliad of Broken Sentences(1967). She also published six novels in the 1960s and early 1970s, and collaborated with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to create an experimental sound-poem, entitled 'Sono-Montage'.
- Trevelyan (George Otto) ArchiveGeorge’s wife, Lady Caroline Trevelyan, was active as a Suffragist in the Women’s Suffrage movement: the collection contains correspondence between Caroline and some of her Suffragist contacts.
- Trevelyan: Papers of Mary (Molly) Trevelyan in the Charles Philips Trevelyan ArchiveThe collection includes substantial content originating from Charles’ wife, Mary Katharine Trevelyan nee Bell (1881-1966) [Molly], half-sister of Gertrude Bell. Mary was president of the Northumberland Women’s Liberal Federation, and involved with the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE), Women’s Institute, Girl Guides and Association of Countrywomen of the World. Her correspondence reflects these interests, as well as her domestic life. Also included are her personal diaries for 1892-1917.
- Ure (Peter) CollectionThe Ure Collection is an Anglo-Irish literature collection, with a particular emphasis on the work of W.B. Yeats. Thirty four of the books were published in Dublin by the Cuala Press, which had been established in 1904 by Elizabeth Yeats and her brother, W.B. Yeats. It was staffed by women and published new work, making the imprint distinctive.
- Williams (Ethel) ArchiveEthel Williams was Newcastle’s first female doctor, and in 1906, became the first woman to found a general medical practice in the city. In 1917, Williams co-founded the Northern Women’s Hospital. As a suffragist, she served as secretary of the Newcastle Women’s Liberal Association and became president of the Newcastle and District Women’s Suffrage Society.
- Gender Data PortalWorld Bank portal of data disaggregated by sex, relating to many aspects of life and society.
- Mass Observation Online 1937-1967 This link opens in a new windowThis a major resource for British social history from 1937-1967. It contains material generated by the Mass Observation social research organisation, including all the day surveys, diaries and subject directives from 1937-1967, a wide range of themed topic collections, together with other material such as images and essays. We also have access to the Mass Observation 1980s and 1990s database. Read our blog post for more information about this archive.
- Mass Observation Project 1981-2009. This link opens in a new windowThis contains responses to the Mass Observation project in the 1980s,1990s and (NEW!) 2000s, covering political and social themes of the period, plus insights into everyday life. A fascinating insight into late twentieth century Britain. We also have access to the earlier Mass Observation Online database covering 1937-1967. Read our blog post for more information about this resource.
- Modern Records Centre: feminism resourcesVarious digitised collections from Warwick University's Modern Records Centre relating to feminism and the role of women.
- Oral histories of the history of womenVarious oral history collections from the British Library, some of which are available online.
- Perdita Manuscripts This link opens in a new windowBritish female writers' manuscripts from the 16th and 17th centuries, featuring genres such as autobiography, diaries, historical writing, prose, travel writing and verse. The documents have been digitised from the originals, and can be searched or browsed in various ways. An indispensable resource for anyone interested in women and women's writing in Early Modern Britain.
- StatistaStatista is a collection of over 1.5 million datasets on a huge range of contemporary topics. If you're looking for data to help you research inequality, it's a great place to start.
- Suffrage banners collectionDigitised images of suffrage banners from the Women's Library.
- Unfinished Business: Explore the stories of women’s rights in the United KingdomThe British Library's 'Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights' highlights the narratives of feminist activism and women’s rights in the UK. Discover more about the stories, people and events that have shaped society, as well as the work that remains unfinished.
- Unfinished Business - Newcastle LibrariesThe British Library Exhibition, 'Unfinished Business', looks at women who have had to fight to be recognized as intellectually equal to men. it explores some of the many women who have fought for change in education, work and in wider society. Inspired by the exhibition, we look at two women from the North East who in their own professions and lives bucked the trends of their times and made a significant contribution to their communities and wider society.
- US Archives: WomenOverview of collections and other useful resources relating to women's studies, curated by US National Archives.
- Victoria and Albert museum: gender and sexualityCollection highlights from the V and A relating to gender and sexuality.
- Women and the Law (Peggy)Women and the Law (Peggy) is a collection that brings together books, biographies, and periodicals dedicated to the role of women in society and the law. It provides a convenient platform for users to research the progression of women's roles and rights in society over the past 200 years.
- Women's History Month on Archives HubArticle highlighting archives in UK universities relating to women's history.
- Women's LibraryThe Women's Library is now based in the London School of Economics. It focuses particularly on women's rights in the UK from 19th century onwards, and over 300 items have been digitised and are available online.
- Women's Magazine ArchiveA searchable archive of leading women's interest magazines, dating from the 19th century through to the 21st. Subject coverage includes consumer culture, economics/marketing, family life, fashion, gender studies, health and fitness, home/interior design, popular culture, and social history.
Films
As a member of the Newcastle University community, you are able to access the Library's subscription to Box of Broadcasts (BoB).
Take a look at the Library-curated playlists available on BoB:
Social Media & Multimedia
Podcasts
Gender Equality - ACTION
Newcastle University is a member of the Athena SWAN charter that promotes gender equality in research and academia.
The Gender Research Group at Newcastle University brings together a large number of scholars from different areas across the University.
NU Women supports all women employed at Newcastle University. The network is open to anyone who works at the university and we provide a voice for staff working in every aspect of the university, at all levels.
Take a look at the following NUSU societies:
Below are some organisations that focus on gender equality and women's rights. Take a look...
- Read up on Womankind's facts about women's rights.
- Explore women's rights on the Human Right's Watch website.
- Take a look at Amnesty International's overview of women's rights.
- Search and compare gender pay gap data in the UK.
- Take a look at The Fawcett Society who campaign for gender equality and women’s rights at work, at home and in public life.