Voices of protest in academia:

The university as a democratic institution is at stake

Values like equality, inclusion and diversity are being stifled by the prevailing management ideology in academia, critics note. “We must create an academic culture of compassion,” says British organizational psychologist Kathryn Waddington.

When the numbers tell different stories

Men produce twice as many scientific publications as women. At least that’s the long-held assumption. But Lynn Nygaard, a special adviser and doctoral research fellow at PRIO, challenges this widespread belief in her recent article.

Most read in 2018

The year of handling #MeToo in academia

Sexual harassment, the #MeToo movement, a radical suggestion to improve the gender balance among Nobel candidates, and the problem with white campuses. Read our top ten news articles from 2018.

Gender and quality create conflict when hiring academics

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.

Knowledge about gender needs decolonising

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.

Kalwant Bhopal: It pays to be white on campus

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.

Research on sexual harassment:

Norway close behind Sweden

A new working group will document the extent of sexual harassment in Norwegian academia. Now Sweden is encouraging Norway to follow its lead and set aside money for research in this area.

No more Norwegian input to the EU

The Ministry of Education and Research will nonetheless assess whether a greater focus on gender balance and the gender dimension is needed in the EU’s new research programme. The Research Council and the KIF Committee are cautiously optimistic.