Following four years of implementing the UNIGEM (Universities and Gender Mainstreaming) project across 19 universities in the region a follow-up study has been published (the first study was conducted in 2021 and published in 2022 in local languages, and in 2023 in English). In the light of this research authors Zilka Spahić Šiljak, Jasna Kovačević i Anita Dremel maintain an optimistic outlook, despite the growing influence of anti-gender narratives that disseminate misinformation and promote fear in wider society regarding gender equality.
On the one hand, measurable progress has been achieved: students, academic faculty, and administrative staff have demonstrated increased awareness of gender equality and gender-based violence; universities have adopted Gender Action Plans (GAPs) and other strategic documents; and gender-related content has been integrated into curricula.
On the other hand, the long term sustainability of these advances remain precarious, threatened by the rise of global moral panic and the mobilisation of anti-gender movements, which challenge and seek to undermine institutional commitments to gender equality.
