Madrid, 7 March 2025. 8 March is a day of advocacy and commitment to gender equality. Year after year, CRUE has reaffirmed its role in building an inclusive university, free from discrimination and committed to equity. In 2025, the United Nations’ proposed theme, “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”, reminds us that the fight for equality must be cross-cutting and inclusive, ensuring that no woman or girl is left behind or excluded.
Universities, as spaces for knowledge, critical thinking and social transformation, have a responsibility to lead this commitment and to become symbols of both the progress achieved and the challenges that still lie ahead. For this reason, CRUE expresses its firm commitment to:
- Defending the rights of all women and girls, eliminating all forms of discrimination and promoting safe and equal academic and working environments.
- Ensuring equal opportunities, by promoting measures that foster the presence of women across all fields of knowledge, especially in those where they remain underrepresented.
- Empowering women in education and research, ensuring their leadership in the generation and dissemination of knowledge, particularly in specific areas where gaps persist.
- Strengthening university equality policies, ensuring their effective implementation and promoting an institutional culture that supports shared responsibility and work–life balance.
- Adopting a global perspective, standing in solidarity with all women and girls whose fundamental rights continue to be violated, and supporting international initiatives in favour of gender equality.
Higher education cannot and must not remain neutral in the face of inequality. Through CRUE, we renew our commitment to a university that is genuinely dedicated to effective, inclusive and transformative equality—one that not only educates professionals, but also fosters citizens committed to social justice and to building a more equitable, diverse and sustainable society.
Because rights, equality and empowerment must be for all.
