Who we are
West of England Women’s Commission’s Higher and Further Education Task Group brings together education leaders in the name of women’s equality.
What we cover
Who’s involved
Annual review 25/26
Work completed this year:
Agreed aims and objectives of the group (which was newly formed in Spring 2025) and planned 3 meetings for academic year 2025/26.
Identified organisations to invite to join the group and recruited members from most of those organisations.
Initiated collaborative project to explore differences in gender pay gap across all institutions.
Working across colleges and universities in the West of England region, we identify and address issues impacting female students and staff.
Our mission
We want to see an inclusive education system where every woman and girl is supported to thrive.
We cover the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority region, which comprises:
Bristol
Bath and North East Somerset
South Gloucestershire
Chairs: Kelly Gillett (lead for colleges) & Jane White (lead for universities)
Members: University of Bath, SGS College, Bath College, City of Bristol College, Weston College, St Brendan’s College, Bath Spa University, Bristol University, University of the West of England.
Our focus for 2026 and beyond
Looking ahead - Plans for the next year:
Holding first in-person planning meeting in May 2026 at Bath College. Participants will identify a small number of priority areas for the task group and will design projects to address these areas.
Some project work will focus simply within the FE/HE remit; other work will require collaboration with other task groups or facilitating areas such as transport.
