Earmarking proposed in the National budget
In its proposition for the National budget, which was presented in the beginning of October, the Government states that it wants to focus on earmarking of academic posts for women.
The Ministry of Education and Research writes in the proposition that much has been done to achieve gender equality in science, but that due to the slow progress the work needs to be intensified.
The ministry suggests several measures to improve the situation. One of the main elements is to change the law in order to make the earmarking of posts for women in science possible in the autumn of 2009.
Recruitment positions
The law amendment follows Minister of Education and Research Tora Aasland’s statements earlier this autumn, when she said that the ministry wants to implement earmarking of posts for women in science. These will be PhD and post doc. posts within academic fields with a particularly low number of women.
In its proposition the Government says that it aims to amend the law so that earmarking can be introduced in the autumn of 2009. The plan is to earmark 15 per cent of new recruitment positions at the universities for women.
The Ministry of Education and Research expects institutions to start making use of earmarking as soon as the law has been amended. The institutions will be asked to report their use of this measure.
Translated by Vigdis Isachsen