Just a handful of Nobel Laureates are women, and the Abel Prize has been awarded only to men. What is needed to eradicate the gender differences in awards for outstanding research?

For the first time ever, preventing sexual harassment is a main goal in the University of Oslo’s action plan for gender equality.

As it stands today, sexual harassment cases must be heard in the courts. Now many are applauding the decision to provide a low-threshold option that will ease the burden on victims.

The Research Council of Norway wants more women at the helm of the Centres of Excellence. But the centres themselves are afraid of losing the competition for funding if they choose a female director.

A Norwegian gender equality committee won the poster competition at a large EU conference held recently in Brussels. The winning poster was “Mission: Gender Balance”.

It was high time to put more focus on ethnic diversity, according to stakeholders in academia. But there is scepticism about expanding the KIF Committee’s mandate even further.

Uppsala University in Sweden is proud of its new tool that reveals gender balance at the touch of a keyboard. Gudrun Schyman of the Feminist Initiative is positive towards the tool, as are Ministers Tora Aasland and Audun Lysbakken. Norwegian educational institutions, however, seem sceptical.

The Liberal Party ensured that the Norwegian Government got majority approval for its proposal for a joint anti-discrimination act, with a few exceptions. Most importantly, the employer’s reporting duty will continue, although it is unclear how.

The Norwegian Government’s national budget for 2012 does not allocate any funding to the Research Council of Norway’s initiative on Gender Balance in Senior Positions and Research Management (BALANSE). Executive Director Anders Hanneborg confirms that the initiative is in danger of being discontinued.

Norwegian researcher networks in fields with an uneven gender balance can once again apply for financial support from the Committee for Gender Balance in Research (KIF). The application deadline is November 1st.

In 2007, the rector of the Norwegian Academy of Music said the institution would implement measures to improve the uneven gender balance among academic employees. He cited figures showing that only three professors were women while 41 were men. Now as 2011 draws to a close, only seven professors are women and 53 are men. Minister Tora Aasland is not pleased.

There was something peculiar about the discussions when research grants were being awarded, according to the committee chair. Something did not feel right. Then the Swedish Research Council began sending observers to the meetings.

A good diversity manager views differences as a resource, and is aware that employees may need adaptations, according to a Norwegian researcher.

They have the worst track record in the Nordic region when it comes to gender balance in academia. What is it with Denmark?