Gender issues

Gender equality in the higher education sector

In Norway, all public institutions are required by law to work actively to promote gender equality, and these efforts are to be documented each year. Norwegian universities and university colleges have drawn up specific action plans on gender equality.

In 2007 the Ministry of Education and Research established a national committee to promote gender equality in science. The Committee for Mainstreaming - Women in Science will support and provide recommendations on measures to facilitate the mainstreaming of gender equality efforts in the higher education and independent research institute sectors. The Research Council is represented on this committee by Special Adviser Gunnar Bolstad.

The committee has launched the Resource Bank for Gender Mainstreaming in Science as a resource for those who are working to improve the gender balance in the research sector, and those who are interested in issues on gender equality in science. The Resource Bank has been developed by KILDEN Information Centre for Gender Research in Norway.

Gender equality as a component of Research Council activity

Besides bearing national responsibility for research policy-related activities to analyse and develop women's and gender research and gender equality in research, the Research Council is also responsible for initiating, implementing and monitoring research activities within this field.

In 2007 the Research Council adopted a new policy for gender equality and gender perspectives in research. An action plan for further efforts has also been drawn up.

Gender perspectives are to be integrated into all research activity funded by the Research Council. The Research Council seeks to create a framework for increasing the recruitment of women to subjects with a low percentage of women and develop initiatives to boost the proportion of women in tenured academic positions.

A number of activities related to gender research have been integrated in the Research Programme on Gender Research.Programme coordinator: Senior Adviser Siri Tønseth.