The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal made decisions in more than 600 cases in 2023 and 2024. Students and staff in higher education and research only reported 16 cases of discrimination or harassment based on ethnicity or gender. And only one was taken further.

All the Nordic organisations for universities and university colleges believe that the educational institutions should have the main responsibility. Our Nordic neighbours have dedicated frameworks and expert groups that set the direction for this work – Norway does not.

Racism and discrimination are bad for public health. That’s according to the staff and students at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oslo. They are now taking steps to prevent discrimination.

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.

Right-wing populism has infiltrated the EU and is challenging gender equality values in European research, according to the Czech sociologist Marcela Linkova. She wants to put gender on the map in the new research programme Horizon Europe.

Academic freedom is threatened by authoritarian right-wing populism in countries in Europe and Latin America. Listen to a podcast discussing why this matters to women's rights.

Many believe it is difficult to reconcile demands for gender equality and measures such as moderate quotas with academia’s conception of quality. This is according to a new master’s thesis on assessments and gender in hiring processes for senior-level positions.

The legacy from colonialism characterises Norwegian academia. Now, Norwegian researchers want to examine their own disciplines and include non-western perspectives in the academic institutions’ scholarly production.

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.