EDUCATION MANAGEMENT
4’2021

Abstract. Gender audit in education is necessary to assess the gender equality in educational institutions. As it was proven that the gender equality has a positive impact on the economic development it is important to determine the best methods to assess the issue and to improve its state. As a result, the purpose of our article is to determine the best practices of gender audit as a tool to assess and facilitate gender equality. To achieve our goal, we used several scientific methods, such as synthesis, analysis, deduction, etc. Gender equality issues have been found to be linked to economic development and are currently part of expanded economic growth models. This is especially true for gender equality in education, which is crucial for all subsequent areas of activity. It has been determined that approaches to gender equality and gender audit have evolved recently, starting from a purely formal one, when equality was defined as equal access for boys and girls to school education, and to the use of comprehensive gender equality indices ranging from 3 to 5 weighted elements, cover lifelong learning, financial component and representative component, i.e. women’s participation in governance at different levels. It is substantiated that gender audit at this stage focuses on a broad definition of gender equality and is a tool to help determine its current level and possible ways to improve the situation. Currently, gender audit is in the form of a participatory audit involving not only external experts but also representatives of the organization where it is conducted. Not only formal statistics are analyzed, but also surveys, interviews among team members are conducted. The practice of gender audit in Lithuania and France shows that France, which started this process earlier, is at a stage when the legal support of this issue is relatively well-established, but there are still problems with compliance with the established norms. Incentives for their observance at this stage are mainly penalties. Lithuania has also begun to form a legal framework for gender equality, but practical implementation has not yet become widespread. Gender stereotypes are still very strong in the country.
Keywords: gender equality, gender inequality, gender audit, gender equality in education, gender audit in education.
https://doi.org/10.32987/2617-8532-2021-4-21-35

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