KIF has presented universities and university colleges with a practical tool to use in their restructuring efforts to ensure gender balance and diversity.

Both the University of Oslo and the University of Bergen are hoping that the Gender Equality Act will be amended. It is the only way they will get their wish to use gender quotas to admit men to professional studies in psychology.

Gender equality is one of six priority areas in the new ERA Roadmap for research – and there will be regular follow-up of progress in this area in all European countries.

The University of Agder is now requiring its new upper-level managers to have competency in gender equality, based on a model from NTNU – and other institutions are considering following suit.

The percentage of immigrants and people with an immigrant background has increased in all position categories and subject areas in Norwegian research. This is one of the findings from the first official diversity statistics for academia.

The government won’t stop at earmarking posts for female scientists. Now Tora Aasland states that the goal is to change the EU regulations concerning this issue.

The corporate world needs more scientists, but few young people choose a career in science. Will we finally break the science code?

The work on standardising the workday of European scientists may further gender equality in the research sector, if a gender perspective is employed, says the Committee for Mainstreaming – Women in Science in Norway.

"We have to be prepared to take on the great challenges and possibilities that exist for technologists in the High North," says Kirsti Hienn. She is the project manager of the Moment network for female technologists.

The female-dominated study programmes at public university colleges have far fewer professorships than the male-dominated ones. Those professorships that do exist are mainly held by men. This is revealed in a recent survey from the Norwegian Social Science Data Services. The figures are collected on behalf of the Committee for Mainstreaming – Women in Science.

In its proposition for the National budget, which was presented in the beginning of October, the Government states that it wants to focus on earmarking of academic posts for women.

What mechanisms lie behind who gets a career in physics and who leaves academia for other kinds of employment? What role does the workplace culture play in this? These and similar issues are being studied in an ongoing EU-project.

Minister of Education and Research Tora Aasland promises to reintroduce earmarking of posts for women in academia in 2009.

For almost five years Norway has had a national committee for gender equality in science. It has placed women in science on the agenda both with the authorities and the research sector.