Gender mainstreaming in Albanian higher education institutions

Gender equality is a fundamental human right and the foundation for a sustainable, peaceful, and prosperous world. Achieving gender equality and women's empowerment is integral to each sustainable development goal. Higher education and research institutions must create a working environment and organisational culture based on equal opportunities and the promotion of good relations based on protected characteristics such as gender, race, disability, or age. The paper aims to examine the experiences of Albanian universities regarding gender mainstreaming. The aim is to understand the level of commitment of Albanian universities to achieving gender equality and to identify gaps and weaknesses. The analysis was based methodologically on gender indicators from several public and non-public Albanian universities and statistical indicators published by INSTAT for all Albanian universities. The analysis focused on gender indicators regarding access to education, progress in career and gender representation in decision-making bodies. The paper found that while implementing a gender mainstreaming strategy is important and shows progress, there are still many challenges. Horizontal segregation is still present. Women are less represented at the top position of academic career progression than their average presence among teaching staff. They remain underrepresented in academic and administrative leadership and decision-making positions in universities. This diagnosis allows for evident actual measures, reinforces existing structures, and defines goals based on the needs detected.