Social change and equity

Social inequality is driven by structural disadvantages such as race and gender, economic systems, climate change, and lack of access to basic resources.

Achieving social justice and equality requires long term and sustainable action to close the inequity gap.

Goal:

More just and equitable societies

Our priorities are to:

Understand social change

Our researchers investigate drivers of change in human societies over time and how these have shaped our identity, communities and heritage.

Examine social inclusion

Our researchers investigate the factors that shape or determine equity and social inclusion to redress longstanding inequalities in society.

Optimise social justice

Our researchers apply evidence to increase access and achievement in education, business practices and civic engagement - contributing to greater equality and representation by all members of society.

Discover our latest research

Better transport design for people with disability

Better transport design for people with disability

A new app trialled by La Trobe University researchers in partnership with HMI Technologies will provide greater levels of control to people with disabilities using autonomous – or driverless – electric vehicles in the future

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Our children are victims of road violence

Our children are victims of road violence

Our children are victims of road violence. We need to talk about the deadly norms of car use.

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Justice system unsafe for gender diverse

Justice system unsafe for gender diverse

Content Warning: This document describes violence against transgender people, including sexual violence.

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New partnership to advance smart-city research

New partnership to advance smart-city research

A new partnership between La Trobe University and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) will see TISS join two prestigious Indian universities to advance research into smart city-related projects, as part of the Asian Smart Cities Research Innovation Network (ASCRIN).

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Health, environment drops meat eating

Health, environment drops meat eating

Health and environmental concerns are changing Australians’ attitude towards eating meat, causing more people to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet.

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Proper titles for support animals

Proper titles for support animals

A study led by La Trobe University has proposed meaningful and consistent job titles for animals the world over who provide support for people.

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Meet our Theme Lead

Photo of Professor Katie Holmes

Growing inequality is one of the majors challenges facing our world. I’m passionate about harnessing the power of our research to understand its causes and identify ways to promote and strengthen justice, equity and inclusion across all our communities – local, regional, national and international.

Professor Katie Holmes
Theme Lead for Social change & equity

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