Towards a new gender agenda and a model for change

Diversity in higher education and research organisations is conducive to research innovation and economic growth (EC 2012a; OECD 2012). Yet male dominated educational institutions have been remarkably resistant to change. Little attention has been paid to the identification of ‘best practice’ that is, universities which in their gender profile at senior academic and management level, their organisational culture, their formal and informal leadership and the embedding of gender in their purpose, curriculum and research agenda, exemplify a new gender agenda. Building on the case studies, this chapter focuses on definitions of success and on a model for change, identifying key external and internal factors as well as specific interventions. It provides important insights into a new gender agenda and how it can be created.