Gender Equality

UNESA supports women's leadership and empowerment through campus programmes

Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA) supports women’s empowerment, leadership development, and an inclusive academic environment through initiatives organised by university directorates, faculties, student organisations, and research and community engagement units. During 2025 and 2026, these initiatives took various forms, including training camps, roadshows, seminars, workshops, focus group discussions (FGDs), mentoring and assistance programmes, and support services. By offering diverse and complementary forms of engagement across university units, UNESA’s approach is designed to reach a broad proportion of its female student population. These activities address women’s leadership and capacity development, gender awareness, violence prevention, psychosocial support, disability inclusion, and student development. Collectively, these initiatives demonstrate UNESA’s broader commitment to empowering women, reducing barriers to participation, and fostering a safer and more supportive environment within the university community.

UNESA's institutional documents and activities show that UNESA, as a higher education body, runs a structured mentoring scheme for women that works across units and continues from year to year.

Sessions for every new student

UNESA welcomed 20,368 new students on 17 August 2026 with a pledge for a safe campus. At the university orientation, PKKMB GARDA UNESA 2026, the Directorate of Student Affairs and the Directorate for the Prevention and Management of Strategic Issues (PPIS) led the new students in a Safe and Anti-Violence Campus Declaration, read out in sign language as well (Satgas PPK UNESA, 2026a). Of the 20,379 students admitted for 2026, 13,190 (64.7%) were women (Subdirektorat Admisi UNESA, 2026), as UNESA's Gender Centre reported in its analysis of the intake (Pusat Studi Gender dan Anak UNESA, 2026). With 20,368 new students at the orientation, at least 13,179 women took part: 28.7% of the 45,959 female students UNESA had in semester 2025/1, and still 22.3% if the whole 2026 intake is added to that total (Direktorat Akademik UNESA, 2026).

The Task Force for the Prevention and Handling of Violence (Satgas PPK) then took its sessions into the faculties. After training the orientation committees on 30 July 2026 (Direktorat PPIS UNESA, 2026), PPIS and Satgas PPK speakers met 1,800 new students of the Faculty of Education (Satgas PPK UNESA, 2026b), 640 of the Faculty of Psychology (Satgas PPK UNESA, 2026c) and 451 of the Faculty of Food Security (Satgas PPK UNESA, 2026d) on 18 August 2026, and the Graduate School's new students on 6 September 2026 (S2 Manajemen Inovasi UNESA, 2026). The students learned to recognise physical and psychological violence, bullying, sexual violence and online abuse such as sextortion and the objectification of women, and how to set boundaries, build healthy relationships and ask for help. A year earlier, on 20 August 2025, more than 2,300 new students of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences joined the Satgas session “Empowered Students: Fighting Sexual Violence through Advocacy and Solidarity” (FISIPOL UNESA, 2025).

Women are the majority wherever the scheme goes. Women are 86.5% of the Faculty of Education's new students, 80.8% of Psychology's and 69.3% of Food Security's (Subdirektorat Admisi UNESA, 2026). Since 6 October 2026 Satgas PPK has visited a different faculty every Tuesday under Selasa Bercerita (Tuesday Stories); its first day drew about 200 students, 135 of them women (Satgas PPK UNESA, 2026e). On 23 and 24 October 2026 the Directorate of PPIS trained 30 student cadres, 24 of them women, in leadership, early detection, reporting and advocacy at ACT CAMP 2026 (Satgas PPK UNESA, 2026f).

Table 1. Women among those reached by each part of the scheme, 2026

UNESA PPKPT Task Force

The UNESA Task Force for the Prevention and Handling of Violence (Satgas PPKPT) supports a safe and inclusive campus through gender-awareness education, violence-prevention campaigns, and activities that encourage women to speak up and support one another.

Working under the Subdirectorate for the Prevention and Handling of Violence and Strategic Issues, the task force prevents and handles sexual violence through educational campaigns and through regional and national forums. It works with students to keep its approach on the side of victims and to provide safe spaces on campus.

Institutional documents of the Satgas PPKPT:

• SOP on examining cases of violence and strategic issues
• SOP on handling reports of violence and strategic issues
• SOP on accompanying victims and witnesses
• SOP on conclusions and recommendations
• SOP on following up recommended sanctions

UNESA Disability Centre (PUI Disabilitas)

The UNESA Disability Centre (PUI Disabilitas) promotes inclusive higher education through disability-related assistance, volunteer preparation, and student support services. These initiatives help students with disabilities access academic activities, receive appropriate assistance, and participate more fully in university life. For example, in January 2026, UNESA reported 140 active students with disabilities, including 73 women (52.1% of the total). This figure highlights the importance of accessible and responsive support for female students with disabilities (UNESA’s commitment to inclusive education). The Centre involves female volunteers in supporting students with disabilities during new-student orientation (PKKMB) and in inclusive career research, so that women contribute as facilitators of empathy, psychosocial support and educational equality. UNESA also supports students with disabilities in their academic and extracurricular achievements: a visually impaired graduate who completed his degree in April 2026 received a scholarship from the Rector for a master’s degree, and a student with a hearing impairment won national recognition in August 2026 through the Outstanding Students with Disabilities Selection (Pilmapres Disabilitas) and the Indonesian Cultural Fashion Parade (DetikJatim; Suara Merdeka Surabaya). The following are examples of relevant programmes and activities organised by UNESA’s Disability Centre (PUI Disabilitas).

Institutional documents of the UNESA Disability Centre (PUI Disabilitas):

• SOP on planning activities (2020)
• SOP on partnerships (2020)
• SOP on internships (2020)
• SOP on using research facilities (2020)
• SOP on research partnerships (2020)
• PUI Disabilitas SOP

UNESA’s Disability Centre (PUI Disabilitas) consistently promotes an inclusive campus environment and the empowerment of people with disabilities. Its initiatives include supporting students with disabilities throughout their university journey and fostering academic achievement, as demonstrated by a visually impaired graduate who secured a master’s scholarship. Beyond the academic setting, PUI Disabilitas also extends its social impact through strategic collaboration with Mardi Waluyo Regional Public Hospital in Blitar to strengthen and improve the quality of disability-inclusive public services (Tim RSUD Mardi Waluyo Blitar Perkuat Layanan Ramah Disabilitas bersama Unesa).

UNESA Gender Centre (Pusat Gender LPPM)

The Gender Centre at UNESA's Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) complements these efforts by promoting gender equality through academic engagement, community service, and women's empowerment. Its activities include supporting webinars and scientific publications, as well as providing assistance to women in rural communities. These initiatives encourage critical understanding of power relations, violence prevention, and social justice, while positioning women as agents of critical awareness and advocates for gender equality.

In practice, the Gender Centre's community engagement includes initiatives to strengthen child-friendly schools in Bondowoso Regency, empower women motorcycle-taxi drivers in Surabaya and surrounding areas through independent makeup business development and branding, and support food security among rural women. Together, these activities demonstrate the Centre's commitment to strengthening women's capacities, promoting economic independence, and advancing gender-responsive community development.

Evidence:

• Community Service to Strengthen Child-Friendly Schools in Bondowoso
• Empowering Women Motorcycle-Taxi Drivers through Independent Makeup Business Branding
• Gender Centre UNESA and Food Security for Rural Women

The following are other examples of relevant programmes and activities organised by UNESA’s Gender Centre.

UNESA Crisis Mitigation Centre (SMCC)

SMCC, under UNESA’s Subdirectorate for the Prevention and Handling of Violence and Strategic Issues, provides mental health support, social preparedness activities, and academic training. These initiatives involve female students as peer counselors, disaster mitigation volunteers, and ambassadors for healthy campus campaigns, providing opportunities for women to develop leadership skills in humanitarian action and strengthen psychological resilience within the student community.

Taken together, the four units show that mentoring for women at UNESA is not only a response to cases but an institutional strategy that combines protection, empowerment, inclusion and mental health. The programmes run on campus, in partner communities and in national forums, widening the roles women play in higher education. In this way UNESA brings a gender perspective into its regulations, services, education and networks with other institutions, and shows its commitment to women through concrete action.