Creating a safe, fair, and non-discriminatory educational environment is one of the key prerequisites for quality education and the sustainable development of hromadas. With this objective in mind, gender experts of the Polaris Programme initiated training on conducting gender audits in 2025 and supported the practical implementation of this tool in hromadas from Volyn, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Zhytomyr, and Kirovohrad oblasts. As of early January, ten educational institutions had independently completed the full gender audit cycle.
A gender audit in the education sector is a tool for assessing the gender sensitivity of an institution’s policies, management decisions, practices, and communication. It helps identify strengths and development potential, while contributing to improved management quality, a safer educational environment, and better learning outcomes.
This tool makes it possible to:
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identify good practices and hidden manifestations of inequality;
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outline areas and potential for development;
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develop practical recommendations and reference points for further action.
More broadly, a gender audit supports the development of an organisational culture based on respect for human dignity and enhances an institution’s capacity to provide high-quality educational services.
From Training to Practice: How the Process Unfolded
In spring 2025, Polaris experts delivered a gender audit training for 20 participants representing 11 educational institutions. Between October and December, schools independently conducted audits within their institutions. By January 2026, ten institutions from different oblasts of Ukraine had prepared their results, making it possible to identify common systemic trends. In particular, educational institutions require:
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broader integration of non-discrimination and gender equality topics into teachers’ professional development programmes;
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greater understanding among staff of the benefits of a gender approach for addressing professional and social needs;
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clear action algorithms in cases of violations of the rights of staff and students;
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challenging and dismantling gender stereotypes;
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increased gender sensitivity in communication.
Particular attention is needed in the area of data management. In most institutions, there is a lack of systematised, sex-disaggregated data on academic performance, attendance, injuries, or the choice of specialised study tracks. There is also a need to make anti-discrimination policies more visible on institutional websites and to consider the physical accessibility and inclusiveness of educational spaces, including through the lens of gender equality.
Based on the audits conducted, educational institutions developed recommendations aimed at long-term change. These include increasing the visibility of gender equality work in schools, strengthening a cross-cutting gender approach, and enhancing gender sensitivity – including through the use of language.
Gender audits help schools move away from declarative approaches towards conscious, systematic work on equality and non-discrimination, laying the groundwork for sustainable managerial and cultural change. In the long term, such approaches directly contribute to improved education quality, stronger trust within teaching teams, and the creation of a safe educational environment where everyone has equal opportunities for development.
Through the implementation of such practical tools, the Polaris Programme consistently supports hromadas and educational institutions on their path towards modern, people-centred governance. The next step in this work will be an online meeting in May 2026, during which participating schools, together with Programme experts, will analyse progress achieved and discuss how the recommendations developed through the gender audits are being implemented in practice.
