“Diversity management is particularly relevant in academia”
Some people still shake their heads at the concept of diversity management. After all, isn’t it just about treating all employees equally?
Some people still shake their heads at the concept of diversity management. After all, isn’t it just about treating all employees equally?
“Yes, more researchers have parents with higher education. But you don’t have to be born into academia to succeed,” says Silje Fekjær, Vice-Rector at OsloMet.
“Diversity management is not only about the needs of minorities, but also about the other employees who might need adaptation when they’re going through rough patches in their lives,” says Professor Gro Mjeldheim Sandal.
While women actively participate in the practical work at their organisation, men dodge it.
The EU project GENDERACTIONplus is set to host a conference on equality in February. Why is this conference so important for Norwegian research institutions?
The article about a new plan against racism at Østfold University College was the most popular one last year.
According to the science hierarchy, sociology has low status whereas mathematics has high status. Both this hierarchy and the peer-review process have characteristics that structurally downgrade women’s position in academia.
A Norwegian gender equality committee won the poster competition at a large EU conference held recently in Brussels. The winning poster was “Mission: Gender Balance”.
Uppsala University in Sweden is proud of its new tool that reveals gender balance at the touch of a keyboard. Gudrun Schyman of the Feminist Initiative is positive towards the tool, as are Ministers Tora Aasland and Audun Lysbakken. Norwegian educational institutions, however, seem sceptical.
The Norwegian Government’s national budget for 2012 does not allocate any funding to the Research Council of Norway’s initiative on Gender Balance in Senior Positions and Research Management (BALANSE). Executive Director Anders Hanneborg confirms that the initiative is in danger of being discontinued.
Norwegian researcher networks in fields with an uneven gender balance can once again apply for financial support from the Committee for Gender Balance in Research (KIF). The application deadline is November 1st.
In 2007, the rector of the Norwegian Academy of Music said the institution would implement measures to improve the uneven gender balance among academic employees. He cited figures showing that only three professors were women while 41 were men. Now as 2011 draws to a close, only seven professors are women and 53 are men. Minister Tora Aasland is not pleased.
It pays to be keenly aware of how you use your time. This is according to Siv Ellen Kraft, a recently appointed professor at the University of Tromsø.
Gender equality activities are crucial for achieving the ambitious plans to enhance quality and expertise at Bergen University College. Last year the institution received the Gender Equality Award presented by the Ministry of Education and Research, and they are encouraging others to apply for the award this year.