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.

If you want to succeed as a researcher, you must not prioritize your family. This is one of the findings in a new Swedish report. In Norway, we are seeing the same trend.

Norway’s new official report on equality says little about the problem of the low percentage of women in senior academic positions, but it presents a solid analysis of equality policy and makes some radical proposals.

SINTEF thinks it is positive, for both the working environment and the academic sphere, to ask about sexual harassment on employee surveys.

The Committee for Gender Balance in Research has been appointed until the end of 2013, but what will happen after that? Minister of Education and Research Kristin Halvorsen is now indicating that the committee will be extended for another term.

“We are now putting more emphasis on the gender perspective in research and education,” says Vice Rector Curt Rice. After several years of working with gender equality in the personnel area, the University of Tromsø is directing its gender equality efforts towards the research itself.

A new study from the University of Oslo sheds light on women’s career opportunities at the university. The study took its point of departure in an evaluation of the mentor scheme.

Sexual harassment will not be addressed on the new national working environment survey for the higher education sector. The chair of the Committee for Gender Balance in Research is disappointed.

Sexual harassment in the workplace can get worse if nobody asks about it, according to one researcher. Her view is supported by Swedish educational institutions. Uppsala University has trained more than 3,000 employees about sexual harassment in the past nine years. And the demand for knowledge is growing.

“Asking about sexual harassment is one of our legal duties,” says the Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud.

When Solveig wanted to switch her major from English to natural science, the professor for the class was so distressed about getting yet another female student that he tried to scare her away. “It’s so difficult. There are many who die,” he said.