ShareAQU Catalunya presents its “Equity Report” at a session at the Technical University of Catalonia
The report, based on the responses of 21,000 students, looks at how social class affects the employment outcomes and social mobility of graduates from the Catalan Higher Education System.
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Today, AQU Catalunya presented its report on Equity in the Employment Outcomes and Social Mobility of Graduates from Catalan On-campus Universities in a specially organised session at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC). The event, which was open to the public, was attended by the Secretary General of the Government of Catalonia’s Ministry of Research and Universities, Josep Oriol Escardíbul Ferrà, the President of AQU Catalunya, Francesc Xavier Grau Vidal, the Director of AQU Catalunya, Jaume Valls Pasola, and the Rector of the UPC, Daniel Crespo Artiaga.
In addition to representatives from various institutions, the event was also attended by specialists in the area. Antonio Ariño, professor of Sociology at the University of Valencia, discussed in depth how the report addressed the social dimension of equity; Helena Troiano, professor for the Department of Sociology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and chair of the working group that drew up the catalogue of indicators, explained the catalogue of equity indicators in the report, while Josep Lluís Mateos, the person in charge of the report for AQU Catalunya, presented the conclusions of the study.
The event focused on presenting the conclusions reached by the Equity Report, which looks at how the employment outcomes of graduates are affected by their social class and is the result of the second thematic study on this topic carried out by the Agency. The report also analyses the social mobility experienced by students from the Catalan Higher Education System (SUC) once they enter the labour market and provides evidence that will enable the various SUC stakeholders to develop initiatives aimed at improving equity and social mobility.
The Equity Report, which is based on the responses of 21,000 students, concludes that the SUC is horizontally stratified, implying that the social classes are not randomly distributed among the various degrees because upper-class students tend to choose more socially prestigious degrees that lead to higher paying jobs. It also underlines the prominent role of universities in promoting equity and notes that Catalan universities help ensure fair employment outcomes for their graduating students despite the fact that salaries vary between the social classes. Lastly, the report points to the fact that Catalan universities act as effective enablers of upward social mobility.
The publication of this report aligns with the requirements set out in the Rome Ministerial Communiqué, which establishes that “whenever possible, external quality assurance systems should consider how the social dimension, diversity, accessibility, equity and inclusion are reflected within the institutional missions of higher education institutions”. For a more in-depth look at the findings of the Equity Report, please refer to the following documents:
Catalogue of equity indicators for access, progress and employment outcomes in the Catalan Higher Education System (March 2025)