Gendering higher education quality assurance: a matter of (e)quality

Abstract

ABSTRACT Gender equality goals for higher education are found in all national legislations. This notwithstanding, quality assurance conceptual frameworks and practitioners’ work in the European Higher Education Area have tended to be gender-blind and thus remained disconnected from gender equality concerns. Focusing on the policy innovations recently introduced by the Swedish and the Catalan quality assurance agencies, the article addresses two intertwined questions, namely what does a gender-sensitive quality assurance framework look like and how to contextualise quality assessments within the gendered dynamics that pervade the work and study environments of higher education institutions. These two case studies show that gendering quality assurance can stir an institutional self-redefinition in contributing to embedding the gender perspective in their quality culture. Although mainstreaming gender in the operation of higher education institutions and in the design and implementation of their programmes entails a gradual learning process, external assessments constitute an accelerating incentive.