Understanding Institutional Readiness

Institutional readiness refers to the extent to which an organization is willing and able to implement gender equality policies in a meaningful and sustainable way. This includes both formal structures (e.g., policies, strategies, resource allocation) and informal cultures (e.g., norms, attitudes, leadership behaviour) that either enable or hinder progress (Norman, 2010). Research highlights that change is most effective when institutions recognize their own position within a wider gendered system and engage in critical reflection and long-term commitment (Clarkson et al., 2020). Findings from the SheCOACH national surveys (D2.2, D2.3) reinforce this, with coaching education providers in all four countries reporting a gap between institutional mission statements and actual implementation capacity. While some institutions may express commitment to gender inclusion, the absence of structured internal policies, limited staff development, and lack of gender-disaggregated monitoring data often impede progress. In structured interviews, stakeholders also highlighted the influence of personal attitudes of institutional leaders —either as barriers or as powerful enablers of change— underscoring the importance of leadership accountability as a dimension of readiness.

A robust readiness assessment explores:

• Leadership attitudes and behaviours regarding gender inclusion.
• Existing policies and their implementation gaps.
• Institutional history with diversity or equality initiatives.
• Availability of resources (human, financial, technical).
• Staff competencies in gender-sensitive education and coaching.

Institutions may consider conducting a gender audit, an internal review tool that helps identify strengths and weaknesses in gender mainstreaming efforts across policies, procedures, culture, and staffing.