STEM education in Poland and Ukraine: exploring the contextual data of the GGG Index

The assessment and monitoring of educational attainment in Poland and Ukraine in terms of ensuring gender parity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) were explored. It is noted that the new educational visions should be based on the acquisition of knowledge in STEM fields and fluency with digital tools. STEM careers are expected to be among the most in-demand in the context of Industry 4.0. The Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) used to achieve a comprehensive gender analysis. The category subindexes “Educational Attainment” determines the scale of the imbalance between women and men. The retrospective analysis of the transformation of the indicator system for assessing the educational attainment performed. The visualizations of contextual indicators for the educational attainment in Poland and Ukraine (2006–2023) were created, and indicators related to the STEM education and STEM skills were identified. The results of the analysis showed that Poland and Ukraine have high achievements in ensuring equal access for women and men to primary, secondary, and higher education. In 2023, the gender gap in STEM specialties in Poland was 0.40, and in Ukraine – 0.34. The results of this analysis can be used as “input data” to develop models for monitoring and evaluating a university’s (or faculty’s) gender maturity, considering new assessment indicators for STEM education and STEM competencies.