Most read in 2018 The year of handling #MeToo in academia

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.

May-Britt Moser received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014, together with Edvard Moser and John O'Keefe. In our most read news article in English from 2018 Curt Rice, Rector of the Oslo Metropolitan University and Chair of the KIF Committee, explains his solution for closing the gender gap among Nobel Laureates. (Photo: Geir Mogen / NTNU)

Four out of ten of our top stories in English from 2018 deal with sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement. Other popular topics include the relation between quality and equality, the need for gender balance among centre directors, time use in academia, and a message to EU to not forget gender equality.

Top ten stories from 2018:

1. Curt Rice wants just as many female as male Nobel candidates

We are a long way from closing the gender gap among Nobel Laureates. Curt Rice, Rector of the Oslo Metropolitan University and Chair of the KIF Committee, explained his solution for this to the Nobel Foundation in Sweden last week.

2. #MeToo can’t change academia by itself

The #MeToo movement is standing up to sexual harassment, also in academia and the research sector. “The movement reveals just the tip of several icebergs,” says Mons Bendixen, a Norwegian researcher.

3. The University of Oslo ramps up its fight against sexual harassment

For the first time ever, preventing sexual harassment is a main goal in the University of Oslo’s action plan for gender equality

4. Time use in academia: Men and women use their time differently, but everyone works too much

Male post-docs and PhD candidates work more than their female colleagues, but female professors work the most hours of all, according to the latest time use survey.

5. The KIF Committee: Eight recommendations for lasting change after #MeToo

Minister of Children and Equality Linda Hofstad Helleland recently held an input meeting on the #MeToo movement. The KIF Committee has eight recommendations for the minister about the work to prevent sexual harassment.

6. Kalwant Bhopal: It pays to be white on campus

Racism has become more visible in the UK after Brexit, and is seen in academia as well. This is according to diversity researcher Kalwant Bhopal, who is coming to Norway in November for a conference on diversity.

7. #MeToo kick starts Nordic research on sexual harassment

We have asked stakeholders in the sector about the status of research on sexual harassment in Nordic academia in the wake of #MeToo.

8. “Need gender balance among centre directors”

Less than 15 percent of grant applications for Centres of Excellence designate a woman as the centre director. A new master’s thesis looks at gender differences in research funding.

9. EU urged to strengthen gender objectives

The Research Council of Norway and the Committee for Gender Balance and Diversity in Research have written a letter to the Ministry of Education and Research. Their message is clear: Don’t forget gender equality.

10. Better research thanks to more gender equal staff

A new article shows that women more often apply gender perspectives in their research. A diverse research group leads to better and more accurate knowledge about the world, according to Mathias Wullum Nielsen.