Ireland is the new gender equality role model in the EU
The EU flew in the face of those who believed that Nordic countries would dominate the gender equality scene in European academia in 2023.
The EU flew in the face of those who believed that Nordic countries would dominate the gender equality scene in European academia in 2023.
However, researchers born in Norway to immigrant parents still account for less than one per cent of researchers. “Remember that this is a young group,” says Statistics Norway.
Nowadays, most universities, university colleges and research institutes have action plans for equality. Institutions have responsibility for the content and quality of their action plans, says the Ministry of Education and Research.
A new report shows that gender equality advisers and good systems generate engagement and results for gender equality and diversity in research.
“Gender-based violence affects the majority of students and staff in higher education,” according to Fredrik Bondestam from the University of Gothenburg.
The article about class as an invisible difference in academia was the most popular one last year. Check out our most read stories from 2022.
It is pointless to start a search for female applicants one week before the application deadline. If you want to increase the number of women in a male-dominated field, you have to make long-term plans. This is according to Tor Grande, who recently stepped down as head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
“We don’t discuss gender equality very much; after all, it’s an integral part of our job,” says Vice-Dean Helge Klungland of the Faculty of Medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). “Nobody is hired or granted project funding here without gender equality being part of the process.”
This was the clear message from the CEO of the SINTEF Group, Unni Steinsmo, when she opened a conference on gender equality in the independent research institutes.
The better the gender balance, the more we benefit from the pool of researcher talent. This is the argument made by the independent research institutes for their own gender equality efforts. However, a new study shows that women are in short supply at the highest levels of research and in leadership positions within the sector.
The Norwegian Government will extend the term of the national committee that promotes gender equality. It is also proposing financial rewards for institutions that employ women in high-level positions in the male-dominated natural sciences.
What does it take to change the gender balance in the most male-dominated physical sciences? This is an issue that Jan Petter Hansen of the University of Bergen knows a lot about. Under his leadership, the percentage of women in the Department of Physics and Technology is finally on the rise.
Norway and Sweden are held up as shining examples when gender equality in academia is discussed in a European context. But even in these countries, political efforts to achieve the objectives of gender balance must continue. Key challenges are rigid structures and the men who dominate academia, according to researchers who recently attended a European conference in Stockholm.
Receiving the Gender Equality Award from the Ministry of Education and Research has generated enthusiasm, more room for action and increased focus on gender equality efforts, according to last year’s two prize winners. This year’s call for nominations is now underway.