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IGE Self-Assessment Tool

This self-assessment tool will help you reflect on your current Inclusive Gender Equality competences and identify areas for further professional development.

The Inclusive Gender Equality (IGE) self-assessment tool has been developed within the framework of the OpenEU project, which aims to strengthen inclusive, equitable, and gender-sensitive practices in higher education institutions across Europe. IGE self-assessment tool has been developed using a structured, evidence-based methodology that integrates quantitative survey data and qualitative input from institutional and civil society stakeholders.

The literature review established the conceptual framework of the tool, focusing on Inclusive Gender Equality in higher education and drawing on key principles of gender equality, intersectionality, diversity, and inclusion.

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Empirical evidence was collected through a survey conducted among academic and administrative staff members from OpenEU partner higher education institutions. The survey assessed the competences required to support inclusive and gender-sensitive practices in higher education. Key findings revealed gaps related to time constraints, limited access to structured training (particularly in working with underrepresented groups), insufficient availability of accessible and digital learning resources, and institutional barriers such as limited funding, leadership support, and organisational culture.

These results were complemented and validated through interviews with partner institution local CSOs and NGOs, ensuring the relevance and applicability of the tool across diverse institutional and socio-cultural contexts.

This tool helps academic and administrative staff at higher education institutions across Europe and beyond identify competence gaps when supporting underrepresented student groups—including students with disabilities, rural residents, migrants, refugees, and women in STEAM. Depending on your role, you will navigate 6 key competence areas tailored specifically to academic staff or 6 areas designed for administrative staff. Your responses will help us map and shape the T3.3.3 OpenEU IGE training programme, ensuring we build targeted, highly practical learning modules for your daily work. Before you begin, please select your professional profile to unlock your customised set of questions. Some scenarios present generic cases that may not directly reflect an online higher education environment; however, these questions are designed to assess core IGE competences regardless of the delivery mode. Once you complete the assessment, you can review and refine your answers before receiving an individualised evaluation report packed with targeted recommendations for your professional growth and development. Your responses will be stored alongside your selected country to generate your downloadable report, but your data remains completely anonymous.

GLOSSARY →

Select one of the appropriate roles and take the self-assessment test!

Academic Staff Administrative Staff

Glossary

Deficit-based narratives
A framework that defines individuals, groups, or communities by their flaws, failures, or what they lack, rather than their inherent strengths or the impact of systemic barriers. For example, labeling low-income or minority students as "unmotivated" or "culturally deprived" instead of looking at a lack of school resources, systemic racism, or inflexible curricula (Tuck, 2009).
Intersectionality
The way different parts of a person's social identity—such as race, gender, class, and sexuality—overlap and connect to create unique systems of discrimination, disadvantage, or privilege. For example, a Black woman faces a mix of racism and sexism that is different from facing only racism or only sexism (Crenshaw, 1989).
Underrepresented groups
Students with disabilities, rural residents, migrants, refugees, and women in STEAM (American Psychological Association, 2019).
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
An educational framework that guides teachers in creating flexible learning environments. It aims to remove barriers so that all students, regardless of their diverse needs or backgrounds, have an equal opportunity to learn. For example, in a university course, a professor applies UDL by allowing students to demonstrate their research mastery through either a traditional written paper, a recorded video presentation, or an interactive digital timeline (CAST, 2018).
Micro-discriminatory reference
Commonly referred to as microaggressions, are subtle, everyday verbal, non-verbal, or behavioral slights and comments that communicate hidden bias, hostility, or derogatory assumptions toward marginalized or minority groups. For example, "Where are you actually from?" - implying that a person of colour or accent does not truly belong in their current home country (Sue, 2010).