The KIF Committee believes that gender balance and ethnic diversity are crucial to finding good solutions to major societal challenges.

Round after round of temporary hiring and a non-stop pursuit of excellence and funding may impair progress towards gender equality in academia, according to research conducted at the University of Oslo.

Gender equality generates better results within research and innovation. In addition, EU bureaucrats argue that European research funding should be earmarked with specific requirements for gender perspectives.

In recent years some have asked whether the ceiling has been reached for the number of foreigners in Norwegian academia. The Young Academy of Norway would rather have a debate on how to best take advantage of this new diversity.

“The use of gender points is not just about lifting people over a point threshold they would not otherwise reach. It is also about sending a signal that women and men are both wanted in the programme,” says Research Director Liza Reisel.

The children of immigrants are often met with the attitude that their choice of education has been dictated by social control. On the contrary, these sons and daughters are intent on making their own choices, says researcher Marianne Takvam Kindt.

The results of the national survey on bullying and harassment in Norway’s higher education sector are finally in. But the reasons why harassment occurs remain unclear, according to the Committee for Gender Balance and Diversity in Research.

With the climate crisis as backdrop, university employees have demanded a reduction in air travel. Could cutting air travel also lead to greater gender equality?

Implicit bias – the presence of prejudices and stereotypes in the workplace – has been a topic of discussion both within and outside academia. Does this lead to a focus on the individual that masks embedded structures inhibiting gender equality?

Academia lacks gender balance when it comes to salary, academic level and subject area. Experts are calling for stronger measures to achieve gender balance.

Values like equality, inclusion and diversity are being stifled by the prevailing management ideology in academia, critics note. “We must create an academic culture of compassion,” says British organizational psychologist Kathryn Waddington.

Men produce twice as many scientific publications as women. At least that’s the long-held assumption. But Lynn Nygaard, a special adviser and doctoral research fellow at PRIO, challenges this widespread belief in her recent article.

Sexual harassment, the #MeToo movement, a radical suggestion to improve the gender balance among Nobel candidates, and the problem with white campuses. Read our top ten news articles from 2018.

Is the institute where you work going to be restructured or will the entire university college be merged with another institution? The KIF Committee has now prepared a guide with advice on how you can work with gender and diversity during restructuring processes.