A Comparative Approach on the Relevance of National Gender Equality Legal Frameworks in Israel, Portugal, and Slovakia to Improve Equality at the Institutional Level

In the last decades, women’s participation in Higher Education has increased in most Western countries, even if the well-known phenomena of horizontal and vertical segregation still persist (O’Connor, 2017). The reasons for the persistence of these phenomena have been widely studied (Ridgeway, 2011; Pearce, Wald, & Ballakrishnen, 2014; Rhode, 2016), highlighting the importance of defining and implementing affirmative actions to improve women’s situation in Higher Education. In this context, the European Union (EU) has placed the topic of gender equality (GE) in Higher Education with high relevance in the political agenda. As a result, several research projects have been approved to design and implement Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This paper reflects the design and implementation process of GEPs in a group of countries integrating an international project . Based on data analysis of national legal documents, this paper examines the macro factors that can contribute to improving GE at the institutional level. The empirical analysis is based on a qualitative approach sustained on the analysis of national legal documents related to the economic, political, and social domains of Portugal, Slovakia, and Israel. The comparative analysis among the countries reveals that there are relevant actions already in place in national legal frameworks that can be seen as positive to design and implement GEP in HEIs.