Although the Nordic countries have been good about bringing more women into academic leadership positions, they are only at the EU level when it comes to the percentage of female professors.

The new white paper on research describes the lack of gender balance in the research sector, but its only recommendation for dealing with the problem is to ask the KIF Committee for advice. The ministry will get what it asks for.

This is the clear challenge from Managing Director Kari Nygaard. The Norwegian Institute for Air Research has achieved good results with this approach.

At the University of Bergen, Kuvvet Atakan and his team have made gender equality a key issue in their bid to win the rectorial election.

The Research Council of Norway is announcing the first call for proposals under its new Initiative on Gender Balance in Senior Positions and Research Management (BALANSE).

The research sector is in unanimous agreement that the Committee for Gender Balance in Research should continue. The committee’s concluding report shows that there remain large areas in need of attention.

The Gender Equality Award was presented for the sixth consecutive year on 15 January, and the winner of the NOK 2 million prize is the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

According to a new doctoral project, there is no difference in the leadership styles of men and women. In groups comprised of both genders, an androgynous leadership style was found to be the best for creating a climate for innovation.

The number of women in academia in Norway has increased, yet they are still a minority, and the target that women should make up half of all academic personnel in permanent positions has not been achieved. If the current rate of change in the higher education sector continues at the same tempo as it has in the 1990s and the current decade, it will take another 25 to 30 years before half of those in permanent positions are women. These figures emerge from a new report compiled by NIFU STEP.

Norwegian Minister for Education and research, Øystein Djupedal, emphasizes the use of positive discrimination to recruit more women to top positions in academia, and he is looking to the EU for the means to do this. However, he is receiving criticism for his budget from the opposition.

The start package was not a lifesaver, but it has given professor Heidi C. Dreyer the opportunity to work towards her long-term goals.

There is a great deal of focus on the proportion of women among permanent staff at universities and university colleges in Norway. But it is in business and independent institutes that the proportion of women is the lowest.

What will minister Øystein Djupedal do to speed up gender equality work in the higher education sector?

In the autumn, here in Norway, a new round of the grant Outstanding Young Investigators (OYI), will be launched. Professor Inge Henningsen is of the opinion that the Research Council of Norway should make an equal opportunities assessment of the whole program.