News
Majority of Norwegian citizenships granted to women
In 2012, 53 per cent of those who were granted Norwegian citizenship were women. The proportion of women was particularly high among immigrants from the Philippines and Thailand.
15.05.2013
"Hire women leaders!"
This is the clear challenge from Managing Director Kari Nygaard. The Norwegian Institute for Air Research has achieved good results with this approach.
07.05.2013
New guidelines related to surrogate maternity
In order to ensure legal rights for surrogate children already in Norway, the tax office, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Organisation and the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs have received new guidelines concerning how to process cases related to surrogate mothers in accordance with today's legislation.
06.05.2013
High propotion of girls in school classes is bad for boys' career
New research shows that attending school classes dominated by girls in lower secondary school has negative effects for boys' education and career. They tend to take shorter education and work in less paid jobs later in life. For girls, however, attending classes with a high proportion of girls is positive for their later careers.
06.05.2013
Heikki Holmås' address to the World Bank - IMF Spring Meeting
Minister of International Development Heikki Holmås spoke about gender equality in his address to the World Bank - IMF Spring Meeting in Washington. "The fact is that Norwegian women’s participation in the workforce above the OECD average is worth more to our income than all our oil revenues – past, present and future," said the Minister.
02.05.2013
Older, brighter and funnier
Camilla Collett is famous for writing one novel, but her authorship consists of a large body of essays. Tone Selboe directs the attention to the essayist Camilla Collett in a new book.
29.04.2013
Barth Eide's address to the UN debate on Women, peace and security
"Promoting and supporting the broad Women, Peace and Security agenda is a priority for the Nordic governments. It is part of our joint efforts to foster gender equality and international peace and security," says Minster of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide.
23.04.2013
Women in their 30s produce most children
According to Statistics Norway, women aged 30-34 had, for the third year in a row, the highest fertility rate in 2012. In previous years, women aged 25-29 bore most children.
18.04.2013
More men than women in employment
According to Statistics Norway's 2011 population and housing census, there are still more men than women in employment in Norway.
18.04.2013
First funding announcement under the BALANSE initiative
The Research Council of Norway is announcing the first call for proposals under its new Initiative on Gender Balance in Senior Positions and Research Management (BALANSE).
17.04.2013
Opening Speach at Conference on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
LGBT people are part of all of our societies. They are our family members, our friends, our work colleagues. But collective beliefs and ideas can never justify the infringement of individual rights and freedoms, says Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide.
16.04.2013
New guidelines to defend LGBT persons
Norway is a staunch defender of human rights, including the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons (LGBT). We will have the courage to speak out when others are silent, say the new guidelines for the Norwegian Foreign Service.
16.04.2013
New report on integration presents new action plan
The Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion's report "A Comprehensive Integration Policy - Diversity and Community" promises that the Norwegian Government will present a new action plan to combat forced marriage, genital mutilation and limitations on the freedom of young immigrants.
15.04.2013
Wealthy women voted first
The exhibition Finstemte kvinnfolk ("Devoted women") marks the centennial anniversary of women's suffrage in Norway. It exhibits various aspects of the everyday life of women of all social classes during the last 200 years.
11.04.2013
Different perceptions of sexual abuse
Norwegian mental health staff experience that African women often have other perceptions of what constitutes sexual abuse and molestation than Norwegian women.
09.04.2013
Minister of Defence speaks on behalf of Afghan women
"Solving Afghanistan’s fundamental problems requires women being part of the equation," said Minister of Defence Anne-Grethe Strøm-Erichsen in her opening remarks at the Afghan Embassy seminar in Oslo, “Voices of the future – Afghanistan after 2014”.
05.04.2013
Barth Eide praised by Women under Siege
The organisation Women under Siege commends Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide after he condemned the abuse of women in Syria at UN meeting where he compared the current situation in Syria to the Bosnian war in the 1990s.
05.04.2013
Female Future mobilises talents into leadership positions
Since the quota legislation was passed in 2003 to secure gender balance in boardrooms, Norway has achieved one of the highest levels of female board participation in the world. The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise's (NHO) program Female Future has since it was founded in 2003 mobilised a large number of female talents into board memberships and leadership positions.
04.04.2013
"drop the pen and pick up the needle"
Badly written, trivial, unlikely plot, rubbish, aimed at immature young women. Comments on modern Pulp Fiction? No, these reviews are approximately 250 years old.
19.03.2013
Intensify the effort!
The research sector is in unanimous agreement that the Committee for Gender Balance in Research should continue. The committee’s concluding report shows that there remain large areas in need of attention.
14.03.2013
Norway will host international conference on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity
In cooperation with the Republic of South Africa, Norway will host an international conference in Oslo from 15th to 16th April 2013. The conference will focus on human rights violations based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide will attend.
13.03.2013
Nordic ministerial panel in New York
Nordic ministers discussed the prevention of violence against women at the UN commission on the status of women conference in New York.
11.03.2013
Women are needed in the Armed Forces
Minister of Defence Anne-Grethe Strøm-Eriksen emphasises that women are needed, wanted and welcome in the Norwegian Armed Forces.
11.03.2013
The Norwegian official address to the UN conference on violence against women
"Violence against women can never be accepted, never excused, never tolerated", said Minster of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion Inga Marte Thorkildsen in her address at the UN conference on violence against women which is currently taking place in New York.
08.03.2013
Few changes towards gender equality
According to Statistics Norway's indicators for gender equality in 2011, there are few changes towards more gender equality both in the country as a whole and in the counties.
06.03.2013
Norwegian minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion speaks at UN conference on violence against women
"Violence against women must be seen as a human rights issue and that has nothing to do with culture or religion," says Norwegian minister Inga Marte Thorkildsen.
05.03.2013
Former male bastion wins Gender Equality Award
The Gender Equality Award was presented for the sixth consecutive year on 15 January, and the winner of the NOK 2 million prize is the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
05.03.2013
Strong gender equality legislation has enhanced overall protection against discrimination
The Norwegian Gender Equality Act has become a model for expanding the protection against discrimination in other areas as well. In this way the Act has strengthened anti-discrimination laws in general.
04.03.2013
The soldier as sexual aggressor
Soldiers can degenerate into barbarians during times of war. A political-psychological study of sexual violence committed during the Bosnian War reveals the mechanisms behind this behaviour and provides valuable insight into what can be done to prevent such transgressions in the future.
04.03.2013
Increase in accepted family forms
Cohabitation, gay marriage and single parents, "bonus children" and "bonus parents". New modern ways of living together do not indicate that the family is about to disintegrate. The family lives on in the best of health, but in new ways, claim the editors of a new book.
27.02.2013
Nordic ministers for gender equality attend UN meeting
The Nordic ministers for gender equality will attend the 2013 UN Commission on the Status of Women meeting. The theme of this year's meeting is Men's and boys' violence again women and girls.
27.02.2013
Norwegian women opposed to gender-neutral military service
A majority of Norwegian women are opposed to gender-neutral military service. Norwegian men, however, are in favour compulsory military duty for both genders.
25.02.2013
Foreign policy address to the Storting
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide promotes gender equality and speaks up against violence against women and sexual minorities in his address to the Storting.
21.02.2013
NOK 7 million for voter awareness initiatives
The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development has awarded nearly NOK 7 million to 40 organisations for voter awareness initiatives in relation to the 2013 Universal Suffrage Centennial.
08.02.2013
They left the kitchen and changed the Norwegian economy
A minor revolution took place in the course of one generation: Norwegian women went from being homemakers to wage-earners. This has been highly significant for the Norwegian economy over the past 40 years.
23.01.2013
"Gender differences in leadership are a myth"
According to a new doctoral project, there is no difference in the leadership styles of men and women. In groups comprised of both genders, an androgynous leadership style was found to be the best for creating a climate for innovation.
11.01.2013
Balancing protection and prosecution in anti-trafficking policies
A new report with comparative analysis of reflection periods and related temporary residence permits for victims of trafficking in the Nordic countries, Belgium and Italy, published by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
09.01.2013
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s New Year Address 2013
In his New Year's address, the Prime Minister acknowledged this year's Centennial anniversary of Norwegian women's right to vote.
01.01.2013
Research not family-friendly
If you want to succeed as a researcher, you must not prioritize your family. This is one of the findings in a new Swedish report. In Norway, we are seeing the same trend.
20.12.2012
Annoying body fluids
They are “disgusting" to talk about and should not be visible on the outside of your clothing. And they should flow easily and naturally. Norwegian researchers from several different fields have now written a book on menstruation and breast milk.
13.12.2012
Invisible and crystal clear
What is it like to have both a disability and a sexual orientation that is not heterosexual? A new study shows that this group encounters prejudice and ignorance in the Norwegian health care system.
03.12.2012
Unproblematic to ask about sexual harassment
SINTEF thinks it is positive, for both the working environment and the academic sphere, to ask about sexual harassment on employee surveys.
03.12.2012
Violated rights
In many countries - including Norway - trans individuals who do not wish to undergo gender reassignment surgeries and sterilization are not allowed to change the gender on their birth certificate. This violate the rights of trans people to equality, according to Amnesty International.
10.11.2012
Almost 35 per cent female entrepreneurs in 2011
There were 31 969 entrepreneurs in personally-owned enterprises in 2011. A total of 34.6 per cent of these were women, about the same share as the year before. With regard to private and public limited companies established in 2011, men accounted for 81.5 per cent of the entrepreneurs in these enterprises.
16.11.2012
What cultural values promote or hinder equality?
The Scandinavian countries are world leaders in terms of gender equality, concludes Associate Professor Gillian Warner-Søderholm at BI Norwegian Business School. Why is that? Together with Associate Professor Andy Bertsch at Minot State University in North Dakota, Warner-Søderholm has carried out a large-scale study to uncover connections between a nation’s cultural values and the degree of equality of the sexes.
16.11.2012
In everybody's interest
"In Norway today, the net value of the economic participation of women is estimated to be more important for our current standard of living than all our significant oil and gas revenues combined. In other words, women’s rights are not just important for women; they are in everybody’s interest", states the Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide. He has just attended the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Vientiane, as the first Norwegian foreign minister ever.
15.11.2012
Celebrating mens rights in Norway
"During my first six months in Norway I noticed that something very peculiar was going on. The peculiar thing that I had witnessed was the men’s rights movement in Norway", states the American journalist Saleha Mohsin. "I’m celebrating the freedom my husband has as a man living in Norway, which give him the right to: leave the office by 5:30pm to spend time with his family, adjust his office hours around daycare and have time to organize family dinners and help with housework", she continues.
11.11.2012
Tough love on the farm
For Norwegian farming couples, divorce can be especially tough because there is usually a clear winner after the settlement: the one who gets the farm.
09.11.2012
Subjective childbirth experiences
A new Norwegian study has compared the factors that can cause women to suffer posttraumatic stress symptoms after giving birth. The subjective experience of childbirth appears to be much more significant for the risk than actual complications such as haemorrhages and tearings.
08.11.2012
Gay marriage on the rise
The French cabinet approved a draft bill legalizing same-sex marriage on Wednesday after weeks of loud opposition, especially from religious figures and the political right. If the French bill passes, France will become the 12th country, including Norway, Denmark and Sweden, to make its marriage laws gender neutral.
07.11.2012
Grandfathers role
In a new study, sociologist Knud Knudsen found that grandmothers are clearly more involved with their grandchildren when a couple is younger. However, this gender disparity gradually changes with the years. Among the oldest age groups, grandfathers usually show greater solicitude.
05.11.2012
The Prime Minister speaks of equality
Monday, the Norwegan Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg spoke at the opening of the first Norwegian diplomatic mission in Myanmar. "We will share experience that can be of relevance to your country. We will share expertise on inclusive growth, environmental sustainability, and gender equality", Stoltenberg stated.
04.11.2012
Abstinent mothers require better support
Drug-abusing mothers who become drug-free during their pregnancy have trouble understanding the needs of their babies. New research suggests they should receive greater follow-up after giving birth.
01.11.2012
The KIF Committee will continue
The Committee for Gender Balance in Research has been appointed until the end of 2013, but what will happen after that? Minister of Education and Research Kristin Halvorsen is now indicating that the committee will be extended for another term.
31.10.2012
Golden skirts fill the board rooms
Professor Morten Huse at BI Norwegian Business School has analysed the composition of the boards of public limited companies in the years 2007 to 2010. In particular he wanted to investigate women’s roles in the board rooms, and how they have contributed to company profits. According to the professor, four different types of women are recruited in different ways. They are called golden skirts - and all make distinct contributions to the boards’ work.
31.10.2012
Why Norway criminalized the purchase of sex
The call for a Norwegian ban on the purchase of sex gained momentum when Nigerian women began selling sex on the capital city’s most popular pedestrian boulevard. “The discussion about human trafficking swept everything else out of the way," says May-Len Skilbrei.
29.10.2012
Gender in many subjects
“We are now putting more emphasis on the gender perspective in research and education,” says Vice Rector Curt Rice. After several years of working with gender equality in the personnel area, the University of Tromsø is directing its gender equality efforts towards the research itself.
26.10.2012
Millions for gender balance
For the first time ever, the national budget includes dedicated funding to the Research Council of Norway’s initiative on gender balance in research management. The allocation amounts to NOK 7 million.
25.10.2012
Norway down to third position
This year’s findings in the Global Gender Gap Report show that Iceland tops the overall rankings in The Global Gender Gap Index for the fourth consecutive year. Finland ranks in second position, overtaking Norway in the third position. Sweden remains in fourth position.
23.10.2012
Still few female entrepreneurs
“Approximately 25 percent of those who start up their own business today are women. It’s a pity there aren’t more because we’ll never derive benefit from the many ideas, bulldog spirit and implementation capacity,” says Minister of Trade and Industry Trond Giske.
23.10.2012
Did it change the marked?
In January 2009 Norway revised its legislation on prostitution and implemented a new act prohibiting the purchase of sex. The act is designed to combat prostitution and human trafficking, both in the short and long run. Consequently, it is of great interest whether or not the act achieves and supports these goal. Now there are plans in the pipeline for an evaluation of the consequences of the law.
22.10.2012
Mentor programme is positive for women
A new study from the University of Oslo sheds light on women’s career opportunities at the university. The study took its point of departure in an evaluation of the mentor scheme.
19.10.2012
Want plastic surgery
“I am a bit surprised that so many people would be willing to have surgery,” says Iiná Márjá Jávo at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø. She recently completed a PhD that examined women’s desire to improve their appearance. Her research results are startling, because it turns out that 49 percent of the women who participated in the study could actually imagine undergoing cosmetic surgery.
16.10.2012
How to increase equality
From next year Norway increases parental leave to 49 weeks. Yet months of daddy leave and nursery places for all children do not automatically make for a less gender segregated labour market nor does it make the male dominance in top jobs disappear, warns Professor Hege Skjeie, who has been heading the largest report on equality in Norway so far.
11.10.2012
Admission of failure
“Norwegian equality policy has failed," says Hege Skjeie, who has headed up the most comprehensive review of this policy area ever undertaken.
22.10.2912
Cooperation on women's issues
Norway and UNESCO sign a Cooperation Agreement for 2012-2013. Norway will contribute some US$20 million to UNESCO and host debate on women’s issues.
10.10.2012
Safety net after divorce
The divorce rate in Norway and the United Kingdom is roughly the same, but a new study shows that divorced women are much better off in Norway, where an economic safety net softens their fall.
07.10.2012
Scooters for safety
Norwegian Ambassador Grete Løchen recently participated in a ceremony in Anuradhapura, handing over scooters to women development officers."By getting closer to where women live, the officers will be able to support women facing gender based violence more effectively", Løchen said at the ceremony.
28.09.2012
"Taking the pills makes me girlish"
Mum is relieved; dad is sceptical. The child also has feelings about being diagnosed with ADHD and taking medication for it. “We need to listen more to the children,” says the Norwegian researcher Aina Olsvold.
27.09.2012
Speech about freedom
"People are only truly free when they are able to choose the way they want to live their lives. Regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. It is the freedom of a woman to choose when to have children and also when not to have them. It is about her freedom from intrusion, of her physical integrity and right to think and say what she wants," said the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide at the at the UN General Assembly.
27.09.2012
Stop rape in war
"Conflict-related sexual violence is a security issue and a crime. And the international community must respond with the same sense of urgency as it does to other threats against peace and security", stated the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide in connection with the Conference on Preventing sexual and gender-based crimes in New York.
26.09.2012
Gender equality is a priority
Promoting women's rights and gender equality is important for Norway. Violence against women, women's right to reproductive health and decriminalisation of abortion will be key priorities at the UN General Assembly 2012, according to the Norwegian Government.
24.09.2012
They still won’t ask
Sexual harassment will not be addressed on the new national working environment survey for the higher education sector. The chair of the Committee for Gender Balance in Research is disappointed.
Gender quotas or not?
"Gender quotas are a temporary necessary evil. In most countries where they were introduced in various sectors they have generally proved to be an efficient tool for addressing the informal unequal opportunities and outcomes for women", according to the shadow minister for the public service and gender equality in Malta Helena Dalli. She points to Norway to exemplify.
Wants to ban online statements of hate
Public threats or statements that vilify a group or person based on things like ethnicity, religion, gender or religion are prohibited in Norway, and people can be charged and sentenced. If you publish the same statements on Facebook, however, the situation is very different. Now the Norwegian government wants this to change.
17.09.2012
Weekend mums are met with prejudice
Embarrassing silence, the “bad mother look" and open confrontation are some of the reactions women face when the children lives with their father instead of their mother after a break-up. This became evident when sociologist Grete Larsen interviewed seven women about their lives as non-resident mothers.
13.09.2012
Most shareholders are men
Seventy-two per cent of the 188 000 sole proprietorships as per 1 January 2011 were owned by men. The share of female owners has increased from 24 to 28 per cent during the period 2004–2011.
31.08.2012
Men rule the top-positions in academia
Today 78 per cent of university professors in Norway are men, and change in the direction of better gender balance is moving very slowly. The Research Council want to improve the situation with a new initiative: Gender Balance in Senior Positions and Research Management (BALANSE).
31.08.2012
Statistics on research and development
The publication "Nordic Research - Key Data 2012" contains up-to-date gender segregated statistics from the field of research and development in the Nordic countries. It is published by The Nordic Council of Ministers and compiled by the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU).
30.08.2012
Special representative for women peace and security
NATO has appointed the Norwegian diplomat Mari Skåre as the Alliance’s first special representative for women peace and security. According to minister of Defence Espen Barth Eide, she will play an important role in ensuring that women’s rights, role and participation in preventing and resolving conflicts become an integral part of the Alliance’s work.
28.08.2012
Talk about sexual harassment
Sexual harassment in the workplace can get worse if nobody asks about it, according to researcher Gunilla Carstensen. She is one of the few researchers in the Nordic region who has studied sexual harassment in academia.
27.08.2012
Not enough data on women and girls
"In one field after the next, good examples are emerging where we see that gendered perspectives lead to higher quality results", states Curt Rice. He is pro rector for research and development at the University of Tromsø, and supports Hillary Clinton's call for more research on women and girls.
26.08.2012
Men still hit their partners
“Although the gender-equal man is the norm, men’s violence against women hasn’t disappeared. But it’s more difficult to spot because the abusers don’t define it as domestic abuse," says masculinities researcher Lucas Gottzén.
24.08.2012
Insufficient measures against sexual presentations of children
The coordinated police action against sexual presentations of children has not worked very efficiently. This is revealed in criminologist Tina Michelsens master's degree study of Interpol's resolution on blocking sites which sexualise children.
23.08.2012
Norway plans to increase support to female farmers
"Gender inequality is holding back progress in agriculture and food security", said the Minister of Agriculture and Food Trygve Slagsvold Vedum at the Clima-Adapt Inauguration in India. He states that measures must be targeted especially at young female farmers.
16.08.2012
Action plan for gender equality
The Norwegian Governments' gender equality action plan has now been translated to English.
16.08.2012
Nobody asks about sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a difficult topic, but do we prevent it by closing our eyes and ears? "Asking about sexual harassment is one of our legal duties," says the Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud.
10.08.2012
The army reports record-high number of female applicants
A record-high 18 percent of students accepted to join the Norwegian Defence Academy in 2012 are women.
25.07.2012
Norway is doubling its support for family planning
"Family planning is about the right of girls and women to control their own bodies," said Minister of International Development Heikki Holmås. Norway will provide an additional NOK 150 million for world-wide family planning in 2013, and intends to maintain this at the same level each year until 2020.
11.07.2012
Gender equality and the financial crisis
"In the face of increased inequality and jobless growth, we need just and sustainable economic and social development more than ever. Women's participation in the labour market is essential for mobilising the productive capacity of any country," said Minister of International Development Heikki Holmås at the ECOSOC meeting in New York.
03.07.2012
"Many die from studying science"
When Solveig wanted to switch her major from English to natural science, the professor for the class was so distressed about getting yet another female student that he tried to scare her away. "It's so difficult. There are many who die," he said.
03.07.2012
Wanted: More of the idealistic physicists
Physics has a reputation as being only for the stereotypical nerds. According to science education researcher Maria Vetleseter Bøe, that is unfortunate both for the field and for everyone who misses out on the chance to find out how much fun physics is.
27.06.2012
Gro Harlem Brundtland censures Rio+20's gender equality outcomes
Absence of reproductive rights reference in UN Women's call to action 'a step backwards', says former Norway prime minister.
22.06.2012
Speech at UN Conference on Sustainable Development
Investment in women's human capital is key to achieving change. This was one of the points made by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in his speach at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20.
21.06.2012
Agreement reached in Rio+20 negotiations
"We are pleased that equitable economic growth is a recurrent theme throughout the outcome document. And it conveys a strong message on promoting gender equality." This was commented by Minister of International Development Heikki Holmås after the UN member states delegations had agreed on a draft outcome document for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20.
20.06.2012
Equal rights is sustainability
No sustainable development without equal rights. That was the clear message coming from a Nordic Council of Ministers' seminar at Rio+20 on the interconnection between gender, equality, welfare, green economy and the climate.
19.06.2012
Positive towards gender points
The question of whether gender points should be awarded to men who apply for female-dominated study programmes is a topic of much discussion these days. The Committee for Gender Balance in Research has reviewed its arguments for and against introducing gender points and has issued a statement.
15.06.2012
Masculinity and the military
The Norwegian Government is pursuing more diversity in the armed forces. Part of the concept of diversity is gender. "We need both men and women. In order to get the best defense, we need to recruit the best people. Hence it does not make sense to recruit from only from one half of the society," said Defence minister Espen Barth Eide at a recent seminar on masculinity and the military.
12.06.2012
Antidote to anti-feminism
According to Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik's manifesto, the second wave of feminism that began in the 1970s has been a "protest against nothing" because there is no longer any real oppression of women. Senior Researcher Cathrine Holst refutes his claim.
08.06.2012
The situation in Afghanistan
Even though Afghan women live under difficult circumstances, forty per cent of primary school pupils are girls, and more than a quarter of the members of parliament are now women. This was some of the points Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre made when he addressed the Storting about the situation in Afghanistan and Norway's civilian and military engagement in the country.
31.05.2012
Improving women's and children's health globally
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is hosting the conference "A World in Transition – Charting a New Path in Global Health" on 1 June in Oslo. The aim of the conference is to promote increased international efforts to improve women's and children's rights and health.
30.05.2012
Sustainability requires gender equality
Former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland will speak at the Nordic Council of Ministers’ seminar "Gender Equality is Sustainability" at the Rio+20 conference. The seminar explores the interconnection between gender equality, welfare, green economy and the climate.
28.05.2012
The invisible child soldiers
In DR Congo, 30 to 40 percent of the child soldiers are girls. They experience more sexual abuse and stigmatization and they receive less help than the boy soldiers. In spite of this, the girls get far less attention from the international community.
25.05.2012
Sick leave before, during and after pregnancy
A new study shows that sick leave during the pregnancy of the woman’s first child, compared with before pregnancy for the same woman, has increased substantially in Norway during the period 1995-2008.
23.05.2012
Empowerment of women, economic growth and development
"Strengthening women's empowerment is a high-return investment in better health – for women themselves, but also for their families and for society as a whole," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre in his keynote address at the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
22.05.2012
17 May – Norway's National Day and International Day Against Homophobia
Every 17 May, we celebrate Norway's constitution, but it is also the date of the International Day Against Homophobia and transphobia. "This is a sensitive issue in many countries. But it is our duty to combat violence and discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people," says State Secretary for International Development in the Foreign Ministry Arvinn Gadgi.
16.05.2012
Women conquer private business
The Norwegian gender quota law requiring that the boards of public limited companies consist of at least 40 percent women caused both excitement and indignation. Now it is being copied in many European countries.
09.05.2012
Growing Norwegian–Polish cooperation
"Relations between Norway and Poland continue to grow in both breadth and depth," commented Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on a state visit to Poland to sign three new cooperation programmes on research, education grants and culture. Priority research areas include the environment, health and gender equality.
09.05.2012
Norway top for mothers again
Norway has been voted as the best country to be a mother in for the third consecutive year, according to an international Save the Children report.
09.05.2012
Significance of the financial crisis - international conference on gender in academia
Gender balance and gender equality in research is being discussed more often at research conferences. "What is special with this autumn’s conference in Bergen is its status as an international meeting place for researchers and practitioners," says Gender Equality Adviser Anne Marit Skarsbø.
09.05.2012
UiO says no to gender points for men
"After a thorough discussion and consultation round, we have concluded that UiO will not introduce the use of two extra gender points for men," says Pro-Rector Inga Bostad. The decision will now be reported to the Ministry of Education and Research
07.05.2012
Nordic Foreign Ministers' meeting in Stavanger
The Nordic Foreign Ministers came together in Stavanger on 4 May to discuss ways of strengthening Nordic cooperation and a number of important international issues. The Nordic countries will continue their broad-based efforts in the UN and other international forums to promote women’s rights and gender equality.
04.05.2012
Why women choose ICT
"It's about time that we explore what includes women in the ICT field and stop focusing on what excludes them," says Knut Holtan Sørensen, who recently published a book on the topic.
02.05.2012
Supplementary Report to the 8th Norwegian Report to the CEDAW Committee
Norway's Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud has published a supplementary report to Norway's official report to the CEDAW Committee. The Ombud has identified five main issues regarding the Norwegian gender equality policy, which they think is relevant when assessing Norway's compliance with the CEDAW Convention.
25.04.2012
Unused millions
For three years the Norwegian government has allocated NOK 10 million annually to increase the percentage of women in high-level positions in mathematics, natural science and technology. Figures from 2010 show that half of the funding remained unused after one year, and there is strong evidence that the same holds true for 2011. What's gone wrong?
24.04.2012
Statistical Yearbook of Norway 2011
The Statistical Yearbook of Norway 2011 provides statistical information about the Norwegian society on a range of fields. Many of the statistics are disaggregated by sex.
23.04.2012
Human rights of young people
Introducing comprehensive sexuality education, making abortions legal and combating harassment based on people's sexual orientation and gender identity are all important factors in promoting human rights of young people worldwide. This was stated by the Permanent Representative of Norway to the UN, Morten Wetland, during the 45th Session of the Commission on Population and Development. The session focused on the human rights of young people, including sexual and reproductive rights.
23.04.2012
Nordic Co-operation Programme for Gender Equality 2011
The 2011 action plan for gender equality is now published. It is the first part of the new four-year co-operation programme, "Gender Equality Creates Sustainable Societies", for 2011–2014.
19.04.2012
Remember gender when crisis strikes
Women and men, boys and girls may have different needs and personal resources in a crisis situation. But how easy is it for humanitarian aid workers to remember this when they are surrounded by people in crisis?
16.04.2012
Birth can reawaken the trauma of rape
Eight out of ten women who have been raped experience complications during their first birth.
09.04.2012
Class size does matter, but only for some
Reducing the size of a class helps hard working girls and children from disadvantaged backgrounds, but has no effect on other student groups.
29.03.2012
Norway to cooperate with Portugal on climate change and public health
Climate change and public health are priority areas in the new round of EEA Grants to Portugal. The EEA Grants are also intended to support measures to promote gender equality.
28.03.2012
Men soften with age
"Dirty old men" or asexual seniors? Research on sexuality and old age paves the way for a new view of masculinity.
26.03.2012
Polar widows
Being a polar explorer was extremely hard work, but it was certainly no bed of roses too for the explorer's wife. Sometimes it could take several years before she saw her husband again.
23.03.2012
Humanities cutbacks hit women
More and more humanities fields are being discontinued at Norwegian universities. Many of them are popular with female students. Gerd Bjørhovde, chair of the Committee for Gender Balance in Research, is worried about this trend.
14.03.2012
Hit by the baby blues
Many Norwegian women postpone pregnancy until they have completed their education and are well established on their career path. This may make them more vulnerable to postpartum depression.
13.03.2012
Effective sanctions make Norway's quota law a success
The law on quotas is the most efficient measure to improve the boardroom gender balance. "But the law should be followed up by effective sanctions and state measures which help stimulate the action." That is the advice from head of research Mari Teigen to other countries looking to legislate for quotas on company boards.
08.03.2012
Nordic women lose power despite Denmark’s new prime minister
The Nordic Labour Journal’s gender barometer shows equality between the sexes in top political and professional positions is falling in the Nordic region. Denmark gaining its first female prime minister with Helle Thorning-Schmidt does not make up for the fact that Finland has just got a male president and a male prime minister.
08.03.2012
Historic UN debate on sexual orientation and gender identity
The UN Human Rights Council has held its first debate on how the UN can help to combat violence and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre comments, “This is a historic moment for the UN. Under the leadership of South Africa, we have at last had a debate on how the international community can promote effective protection of human rights for all.”
08.03.2012
Still a difference in opinion on gender equality
Most young people in the Nordic countries support gender equality, but there are still quite a few who believe that the man should be the head of the family.
08.03.2012
Structure for Equality
The Equality Commission was established by a Royal Decree of 12 February 2010 in order to report on Norway’s gender equality policies based on people’s lifecycle, ethnicity and social class. The goal of its work is to lay the foundation for an integrated, knowledge-based equality policy for the future. The commission has now delivered its first report: NOU 2011: 18 Structure for Equality. A summary is available in English.
02.03.2012
Fostering cohesive societies
"GDP per capita in Norway is now among the highest in the OECD-area. Large income from natural resources explain part of our rapid economic growth, but the main explanation is to be found in the high productivity growth combined with high employment rates, especially among women," said State Secretary Roger Schjerva in his intervention speech in Paris.
01.03.2012
Women on Boards in Europe – From a Snail’s Pace to a Giant Leap?
Norway was the first country in the world to adopt a binding quota law in 2005. The successful example of Norway has been increasingly followed by EU member states. This report assesses the measures adopted to open boardroom doors to women in nine EU member states and in Norway.
29.02.2012
Gender equality and the empowerment of women
"It is crucial for our success that we actively reach out and mobilize men and boys for gender equality and women's empowerment, " said State Secretary of the Ministry Foreign Affairs, Ingrid Fiskaa, when she delivered her statement at the 56th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
29.02.2012
Men in the minority
For generations it was usually the men who became doctors, psychologists and dentists. Now it is different. Today there are so few men applying to professional studies in medicine, psychology and dentistry that the University of Oslo is considering giving them preferential treatment.
24.02.2012
Martyrs on Facebook
Can a woman be a genuine martyr? Is it a compliment to say to a woman that she is “equal to a thousand men”? Feminist activists in Iran are waging an ideological war on Facebook.
23.02.2012
Nordic equality and literature on agenda in USA
The Nordic gender-equality model and literature are both attracting substantial international interest right now. At the end of February, Manu Sareen, the Danish minister responsible for gender equality and for Nordic co-operation, will fly to New York and promote both.
23.02.2012
The Nordic Ministers for Gender Equality in the UN: Gender equality brings economic growth!
Equal rights for men and women is the key to social and economic progress in rural areas too. This is one of the most important experiences the Nordic ministers bring to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York, which this year is about women's role in the development of rural areas.
21.02.2012
Investing in women’s health pays off
A new Norwegian-led research project is to identify the economic benefits of investing in women's health.
15.02.2012
Launch of the Norwegian white paper on global health
Mobilising for women's and children's rights and health is one of three priority areas in the very first white paper on global health.
15.02.2012
Gender equality for sustainable growth
Rural women as agents for sustainable growth is the headline for a Nordic expert side-event on Friday March 2 during the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York.
10.02.2012
Norse gods in a crusade for Europe
Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist, called the pistol he used to carry out the killings “Thor’s hammer” and claims to be an “Odinist”. According to theology professor Jone Salomonsen, neopaganism is usually associated with New Age spirituality and the left wing, but right-wing extremists also use pre-Christian religion to build alternative power.
07.02.2012
Dreams of a welfare state
Women in Southern Europe wish they could live under a Nordic-style welfare state so they could improve their lives as women. But the financial crisis has made their dreams less realistic than ever. This is according to John Eriksen, a researcher at the Norwegian Social Research Institute and the co-editor of a new book on women’s lives in Europe.
31.01.2012
University of Tromsø wins NOK 2 million
The recipient of the Gender Equality Award for 2011 is the University of Tromsø, which according to the jury is one of the key players in the field of gender equality. “It is very gratifying to have been selected for this award,” says Rector Jarle Aarbakke.
30.01.2012
Career development takes place outside of regular work hours
A new report on time use in the university and university college sector shows that the amount of time women academic employees work is influenced more by whether or not they have children than is the case for men. And much of the career development takes place outside of regular work hours.
27.01.2012
Mum and Dad share the workload
Research shows that a great many couples in dual-earner families in Norway distribute paid and unpaid work fairly evenly between them.
25.01.2012
Developing democracy from the grass roots up
"If a local community is to develop, it is vital that women participate in politics at the grass roots," says Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Liv Signe Navarsete after a recent visit to India.
20.01.2012
Under-age female prostitutes in Oslo
The Church City Mission, a diaconal organization that works on projects and in institutions in the Oslo area, reports that several underage girls from abroad work as prostitutes in Oslo.
13.01.2012
Beaten by their wives
Violence is neither a women’s problem nor a men’s problem. According to Professor Tove Ingebjørg Fjell at the University of Bergen, it is a human problem. She conducts research on men who are physically abused by their intimate partners.
Norway supports democratic election training for women in India
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Liv Signe Navarsete is in India from 10 to 13 January to follow up the partnership agreement between Norway and India on local administration and democracy. Strengthening the role of women in local politics is an important goal.
11.01.2012
No earmarking for new centres
Earmarked funding for gender equality measures will no longer be available when the new Centres of Excellence are established.
06.01.2012
Gender segregated business ownership
According to researchers, gender differences in education and employment is one reason why it is so difficult to achieve the Norwegian Government’s target of 40 percent female business owners by 2013.
02.01.2012
More immigrants on municipal councils
After this year’s election, six percent of representatives in municipal councils are immigrants, compared to two percent two years ago. However, the number of women remains the same.
20.12.2011
No increase in female representation
Compared to the election in 2007 the proportion of female representatives in municipal councils is stable, about 38 per cent. The female representatives generally have a higher education level than the male representatives.
19.12.2011
Sociology: a women's subject with low-status
According to the science hierarchy, sociology has low status whereas mathematics has high status. Both this hierarchy and the peer-review process have characteristics that structurally downgrade women's position in academia.
14.12.2011
Career success for international women
What is important for the international professional woman when she ventures abroad, is not to loose her drive or motivation, according to Associate Professor Laura E. M. Traavik and Professor Astrid Richardsen.
13.12.2011
Height as an infliction
Several hundred Norwegian girls were treated with oestrogen in their childhood to keep them from growing too tall. Nobody has studied what happened to them as adults.
11.12.2011
The Nobel Prize award ceremony on Saturday
"You give concrete meaning to the Chinese proverb which says that 'women hold up half the sky'," said Thorbjørn Jagland, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, in his Presentation Speech.
10.12.2012
Stoltenberg congratulates Nobel Laureates
"Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman are all important and worthy Peace Prize Laureates. They have fought for peace and democracy, and are important role models for women in Africa, Arab countries and the rest of the world," says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
10.12.2012
New tool for gender equality
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.
05.12.2011
Winner in Brussels
A Norwegian gender equality committee won the poster competition at a large EU conference entitled European Gender Summit: Scientific Quality through Equality, which was recently held in Brussels. The winning poster was "Mission: Gender Balance".
05.12.2011
Female board members lead to stock market boom
Share prices indicate that the introduction of gender quotas in Norwegian boardrooms has had a positive effect on Oslo Stock Exchange.
05.12.2011
How Norwegian must minority politicians be?
Minorities must be "sufficiently Norwegian" and "understand the Norwegian mindset" if they want to run for local political office. Not least, they need to show that they support gender equality. Are minority women judged differently than minority men? Yes, according to sociologist Beret Bråten.
01.12.2011
Old and single farmers
The average age of Norwegian farmers was almost 50 years in 2010. And almost one out of four holders are single.
28.11.2011
New report: Gender differences in environmental related behaviour
Women generally have a more positive attitude to environmental measures than men. These attitudes are not, however, reflected in their actions. Men and women have relatively similar behaviour in relation to recirculation, organic food and water-saving and energy saving, although men drive more cars than women.
28.11.2011
Stronger integration of gender perspectives in all research
In the future the Research Council of Norway will give priority to integrating gender perspectives more dynamically into all of its programmes and activities, instead of having an independent programme for Gender Research.
28.11.2011
NORCAP marks 20 years
"Norway actively seeks to promote women's inclusion in all aspects of peace and security processes. With women making up 42% of its members, NORCAP can more or less boast gender balance. Recruiting women from the Global South is a specific objective," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre at NORCAP's 20th anniversary.
28.11.2011
Report with gender statistics
The abridged English edition of the 2011 Report on Science & Technology Indicators for Norway has now been published. In the report, you will find updated statistics on the gender balance in higher education, research and development.
18.11.2011
Women's inclusion in peace and security
"Security threats against women are too often dismissed as belonging to the private sphere or not being part of the real conflict. Countries like Norway have a responsibility to translate the words of the resolutions on women, peace and security into action on the ground," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre at the Standing Committee on Woman meeting in Oslo.
17.11.2011
Gender in military operations
The Nordic and Baltic Defence Ministers have decided to further enhance the Nordic-Baltic Defence cooperation. And in 2012, a centre of competence on gender in military operations will be launched in Sweden.
16.11.2011
Norwegian funding to Spain's gender equality and work-life balance programme
Spain will receive around NOK 360 million in funding under the EEA for the 2009–2014 period. Just under NOK 90 million has been allocated to the gender equality and work-life balance programme, which will help to promote female entrepreneurship, gender balance on company boards and the inclusion of migrant and Roma women in working life. It will also seek to address gender-based violence.
16.11.2011
Onward Christian soldiers
In the 1800s, Norwegian missionaries had to strike a balance between Christian virtues and the new, modern man's role. The solution was to be meek before God and mighty before men.
16.11.2011
Warning labels on skinny models
Giant images of airbrushed and digitally altered fashion models could soon come with warning labels if Norway's equality minister succeeds in pushing through a new action plan.
10.11.2011
Oslo citizens join action for safer strets
No cases of rape, and fewer cases of violence, were reported in Oslo last weekend, after more than 500 volunteers signed up to help patrol the streets of the capital.
08.11.2011
Unwise argumentation for women peacekeepers?
"Women are peace-loving." "Women are problem-solvers." "Women are more empathetic than men." Arguments such as these are often used to advocate for women’s participation in military operations. Kathleen Jennings, a researcher at the Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies, thinks this is a risky road to go down.
04.11.2011
UN report calls for greater effort on sustainable development
The United Nations Development Programme has launched this year’s Human Development Report. Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim thinks it is vital to take an integrated approach to environment and development. Gender equality and women’s rights are also a vital factor for development in poor countries.
02.11.2011
Stable labour force participation
The labour force participation rate among both men and women aged 15-74 remained stable from the 3rd quarter of 2010 to the 3rd quarter of 2011.
02.11.2011
Norwegian PM rallies to rape victims
Top politicians have engaged themselves in fighting Oslo’s alarming increase in rapes following a wave of attacks in the capital.
01.11.2011
Fewer nations made progress on reducing gender gap
Fewer countries made strides toward improving equality between men and women this year, while Nordic countries held the top spots in a ranking of 135 nations, according to the 2011 Global Gender Gap Index.
01.11.2011
Uncertain future for the Research Council's gender initiative
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.
01.11.2011
Web portal on climate change and gender equality
The new web portal "Equal Climate - Gender and Climate Change from a Nordic Perspective" gives views on how integrating a gender perspective can bring about more efficient solutions for sustainable development and climate change.
01.11.2011
Higher proportion of students without awarded qualification
The proportion of students who do not complete a degree is increasing. The figure is higher for men than women.
28.10.2011
Seeking answers to treat the fear of childbirth
One of five Norwegian women suffers from a fear of childbirth. This fear increases health risks to mother and child, results in more planned and emergency Caesarean sections and consumes substantial resources at hospitals. Now researchers are looking for the causes.
20.10.2011
Fewer victims of theft, more female victims of violence
3.4 per cent of the Norwegian population were registered as victims of offences in 2010. Offences for profit is the principal group of offence for 70 per cent of all persons registered as victims, but the number of victims is lower than previous years. The number of registered victims of violence has been stable, but there are fewer young victims and more female victims of violence.
20.10.2011
NIKK is dismantled as a Nordic Institution
The Nordic Council of Ministers has decided that the present NIKK − Nordic Gender Institute − is going to be dismantled before December 31, 2011.
19.10.2011
More money for networks
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. "Additional funding is crucial in the start-up phase to get activities off the ground," says Gry Seland from the network Women in Health Informatics.
19.10.2011
Booty shake or guitar riff?
Pupils in a lower secondary school in Norway are doing group work. In one classroom, a group of 14-year-olds sit quietly and concentrate, working earnestly on the assignment. In another classroom, the pupils play and fool around with lots of physical activity and very little focused effort. So you think it’s easy to figure out which group consists of boys? Not when it’s music class.
18.10.2011
Difference in gender for ischemic heart disease
In 2010 a total of 20 000 men and 21 500 women died. Cardiovascular diseases and cancer were the main causes of death. More men than women younger than 65 years died of ischemic heart disease.
14.10.2011
Energy for all is also about gender equality
"Energy is about light and cooking. About reading, learning and communicating. About jobs, growth and prosperity. And it is about gender equality. In sum, it is about decent living conditions," said Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in his welcome address at the Energy for All Conference in
Oslo.
Oslo.
10.10.2011
"An important, well-deserved award"
"I congratulate the three winners of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman. This is an important recognition of the role they have played in ensuring women’s safety and right to participate in peace-building work," said Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
07.10.2011
The free prisoners
If we believe criminologist Thomas Ugelvik, Norwegian prisons are filled with freedom. Through relentless entrepreneurship the inmates are able to fool the system and reclaim their manhood.
07.10.2011
Nobel Peace Prize 2011 to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 is to be divided in three equal parts between Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.
07.10.2011
New report on policy coherence for development
Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim presented the first report on effects of the Norwegian Government’s policies on development in poor countries. The report deals with areas such as access to research and education, technology, trade and investment, health, peace, security, human rights, gender equality and climate policy.
06.10.2011
Inharmonic gender balance at the Academy of Music
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.
04.10.2011
Norway supports gender equality in Angola
The United Nations Development Programme and the Norwegian government will support gender equality and women promotion in Angola through a new financial agreement.
29.09.2011
Norway congratulates Rafto Prize winner
“We see this as a tribute to all those who dare to stand up against the discrimination and hate crime sexual minorities are often subjected to,” Norway’s Minister for the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim said.
29.09.2011
Rafto Prize to Sexual Minorities Uganda
The 2011 Rafto Prize is awarded to Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). Frank Mugisha, Executive Director of SMUG, will receive the award on behalf of the organisation in Bergen November 6. The Prize is awarded to SMUG for its work to make fundamental human rights apply to everyone, and to eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
29.09.2011
Strengthening gender equality
"Norway will continue to focus on women’s rights and promoting the role of women in development," said State Secretary Espen Barth Eide when he presented Norway's statement during the General Debate of the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly.
27.09.2011
Integrate the gender perspective into climate work
The connection between climate change and gender was discussed at the meeting of the Nordic ministers for gender equality affairs on 21 September 2011 in Helsinki. - Sustainable development and alleviating the impacts of climate change require equality between women and men, the ministers stated at their meeting.
21.09.2011
Increase in sickness absence
Sickness absence increased from 6.3 to 6.5 per cent from the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011; an increase of 2.5 per cent. Doctor-certified sickness absence for women increased from 8 to 8.3 per cent; an increase of 4.2 per cent. Doctor-certified sickness absence for men remained unchanged at 5 per cent.
20.09.2011
Ban on the purchase of sex has changed attitudes
The Norwegian ban on the purchase of sex was intended to reduce human trafficking and to convince people that prostitution is wrong. But has it worked? Both yes and no - according to researcher Andreas Kotsadam.
20.09.2011
Norway’s priorities for the 66th UN General Assembly
The Government’s general priorities for Norway’s UN engagement are set out in the policy platform for the coalition Government for the period 2009-13 and various documents from the Storting, and further clarified by parliamentary debates and speeches by ministers and others. Norway will promote mainstreaming of gender equality and human rights in all its work within the UN system.
16.09.2011
“Make time for research!”
It pays to be keenly aware of how you use your time. This is according to Siv Ellen Kraft, a recently appointed professor at the University of Tromsø.
09.09.2011
“Ideals of purity create misogyny”
The disciplining and control of women and the feminine are intimately related to notions of cultural and racial purity. As a result, racist ideologies are almost always also misogynist and anti-feminist, says British philosopher Jane Clare Jones. She has analysed anti-feminism in the manifesto of Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik.
09.09.2011
Think long term
Gender equality activities are crucial for achieving the ambitious plans to enhance quality and expertise at Bergen University College. Last year the institution received the Gender Equality Award presented by the Ministry of Education and Research, and they are encouraging others to apply for the award this year.
31.08.2011
Conference on gender equality and media in Rwanda
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was one of the organisers behind the all-African conference Empowering African Women Journalists: Stepping Up to the Challenge of Gender Equality in Kigali, Rwanda.
26.08.2011
The price of justice
Internally displaced women in Colombia are organizing themselves to secure their rights to housing, education and health care. But along with this come threats, violence and dissatisfied husbands. Is it worth it, asks a Norwegian-Colombian research project.
26.08.2011
Fewer married in 2010
The number of marriages decreased slightly from 2009 to 2010, but still the number of marriages the last years has not been as high since the 1970s.
25.08.2011
Gender is the key to a green future
If the battle against climate change is to be successful, innovation and new ways of thinking are needed. This is something society cannot achieve without women.
22.08.2011
The downside of state support
Does state support for voluntary organisations curtail creativity and force activists to focus on what the government wants them to?
19.08.2011
On Breivik and feminism
Professor Jorunn Økland comments on the terror tragedy in Norway in a blog post in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
02.08.2011
Norway, the fatherland
At the beginning of this month, the paternity leave quota increased from 10 weeks to 12 and it is intended that it reaches 14 weeks in 2012. The Norwegian quota system has sparked a small revolution that is gaining ground in Europe.
19.07.2011
Women in the boardroom
"Ignore the doubters. Norway's quota on women in the boardroom is working," writes Associate Professor Agnes Bolsø in a comment in the Guardian.
18.07.2011
Being scrawny is not an option
A dedicated football player, a disciplined martial arts practitioner or a respected weightlifter? According to a recent Norwegian study, young girls are most concerned with their appearance as they become teenagers, but boys must do something to become young men. Their choice of activity is also a choice of masculine identity.
17.07.2011
Global wave of protest against rape
The debate over the legal rights of rape victims is crossing borders. Nordic researchers believe that the victims' encounters with the police and legal system can be improved.
07.07.2011
Effects of paternity leave
A new report discusses the causal effects of paternity leave on children's and parents' outcomes.
05.07.2011
After the heat of the battle
Gays and lesbians can now marry or register as partners in all the Nordic countries, with the exception of the Faroe Islands. Yet even within the gay movement there has been a long-standing resistance to marriage for same-sex couples.
30.06.2011
New students make traditional choices
A record number of women want to study technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). More men are applying for pre-school teacher training. But most students still make traditional choices.
28.06.2011
Employment among immigrants
Female immigrants had an employment rate of 57.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010. In the population as a whole, the employment rate for women was 66.5 per cent. The gap was smaller among men.
28.06.2011
Women in agriculture and rural development
"Gender inequality is holding back progress in agriculture and food security," said Minister of Agriculture and Food Lars Peder Brekk at the FAO Conference in Rome.
28.06.2011
Portrait: Sex is the keyword
A book on a shelf at the university bookstore in Lund was the start of a research career for Karin Widerberg, Professor of Sociology at the University of Oslo.
23.06.2011
Human Rights Dialogue between Indonesia and Norway
Some of the challenges Norway faces in the human rights' area are related to integration, discrimination against vulnerable groups and violence against women, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre in his opening address at 10th Human Rights Dialogue between Indonesia and Norway.
21.06.2011
Reaching the most vulnerable
"I am convinced that Norway, with its national experience of inclusion and gender equality has valuable experience which can be transferred to international cooperation," said Audun Lysbakken, Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, at the conference Disability in Conflicts and Emergencies "Reaching the most vulnerable".
21.06.2011
Women less cited
According to a new study by the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU), female researchers are cited less often than their male colleagues.
20.06.2011
Norway leads in gender equality
"A country does not fall apart when 50 percent of its leaders are women," said the Norwegian ambassador to Slovakia, Trine Skymoen, during her meeting with students of the Business Academy in Levice. She added that in her homeland publicly listed companies are required to have at least 40 percent women on the boards of directors, 40 percent of deputies in parliament are women and out of the seven political parties in the Norwegian parliament, five are led by women.
20.06.2011
Norway and Bulgaria strengthen cooperation on fight against human trafficking
Funds from the EEA and Norway Grants will be used in the fight against organised crime and human trafficking in Bulgaria. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre commented: "The fight against human trafficking and organised crime can only be won through international cooperation".
17.06.2011
Gender equality award to Head of Norwegian Border Guard
Head of the Norwegian Border Guard, Lieutenant Colonel Jørn Erik Berntsen, is awarded the Norwegian Armed Forces’ gender equality award.
17.06.2011
Sexual violence, the armed forces and military operations
"Women are particularly vulnerable and often targets in war and armed conflicts. They have had little influence on conflict resolution and peace-building. They now need to be included," said Minister of Defence Grete Faremo in her speech at a Norwegian Defence University College Conference.
17.06.2011
NOK 290 million for research cooperation between Norway and Poland
Research on the environment and climate, health, gender equality, polar science and social science will be given priority under the comprehensive new bilateral cooperation agreement between Norway and Poland.
16.06.2011
Child care – a site of struggle and compromise
"The Nordic child care model is based on shared parental responsibility and comprehensive public provision of institutionalised pre-school care. Even so, the concept of a 'Nordic model' is partially unfounded," argue the researchers Solveig Bergman and Minna Rantalaiho.
14.06.2011
High increase in the proportion of women with a higher education
In autumn 2010, more than half of all females aged 25-29 had a higher education. Within the last 10 years, this proportion has increased by 10 percentage points. The corresponding proportion of men has increased by only two percentage points in this period, to 32 per cent.
09.06.2011
Muscles and medicine
According to doctors during the interwar period, wide hips made women unsuitable for running long distances. In her recent doctoral thesis, Kerstin Bornholdt looks at how researchers reached conclusions like this.
09.06.2011
Men in the majority
The proportion of male representatives on the boards of private limited companies has not changed in recent years. Eight out of ten representatives are men.
07.06.2011
The fight against human trafficking
Human trafficking is a serious problem in the Baltic Sea region. “It affects all the member states of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, is often linked with international crime, and must be combated in all its forms,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
07.06.2011
Making the high North her own
Her High North is a response to the Norwegian government’s High North Strategy. “Women’s voices are missing in most dialogue about the region,” says Her High North project leader Wenche Pedersen. The project is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Finnmark Fylkeskommune.
30.05.2011
Inclusive gender policies are important for development
Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre stressed that inclusive social and gender policies are among the key areas for development in the debate on “A New Paradigm for Development” at OECD's 50th Anniversary Ministerial Council Meeting.
26.05.2011
It’s not cool to whine
Young Norwegian women today want to be self-confident, cool and relaxed – as well as pretty and well-dressed. This is the female ideal they find in the magazines they read.
25.05.2011
Honorary award to State Secretary Rikke Lind
State Secretary Rikke Lind is voted “Shipping Name of the Year 2011” by WISTA Norway (Women's International Shipping & Trading Association). The jury states that “Lind has been on the barricades to get more women into the boards, and she uses every opportunity to emphasize the importance of having a diversity of gender, age and background in both the boards and management”.
23.05.2011
Local engagement and empowerment of women key to a sustainable future
For each dollar spent on education of girls you get five times as much CO2 reduction as you get by investing in energy efficiency. This was one of the surprising conclusions of a seminar held by the Nordic Council of Ministers at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development on May 12.
16.05.2011
Traditional gender choices
The popular education organisations arranged 40 200 courses with 504 200 participants in 2010. While men were clearly in the majority with 78 per cent taking science, industrial and technical subjects, women made up 70 per cent of the participants attending service courses.
16.05.2011
“Very positive”
Representatives to the Norwegian Parliament applaud the Research Council’s grant scheme to promote women in research, but will not guarantee allocations for the project.
13.05.2011
Young men pressured from all sides
A recent Norwegian report looks at young men from highly patriarchal immigrant families who are struggling with their lives and who have a rather complicated relationship to women.
12.05.2011
“An important initiative”
The rectors of Norwegian universities and university colleges welcome the Research Council’s new initiative to promote women in research.
09.05.2011
Slovenia concentrates funding for public health
Norway and Slovenia signed new agreements on the distribution of EUR 26.9 million under the EEA and Norway Grants. More than 40 per cent of the funds transferred to Slovenia will be used to strengthen public health, gender equality and work-life balance initiatives.
09.05.2011
New research programme
The Research Council of Norway is establishing a research programme that will focus on humanitarian policy. One priority area is women in war and armed conflict situations.
06.05.2011
Minister of Foreign Affairs to meet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay is visiting Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre today. Norway will raise the issues of gender equality, corporate social responsibility and the rights of sexual minorities, in addition to focusing on human rights efforts in the Middle East and North Africa.
05.05.2011
Norway elected to UN Commission on Population and Development
“The Norwegian Government has taken a particular responsibility, both politically and financially, in the efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on reducing child and maternal mortality and improving access to reproductive health services. We therefore look forward to playing an active role in the UN Commission on Population and Development,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre.
29.04.2011
Safeguarding against complex discrimination
When a black lesbian is passed by at the workplace, is that a case of discrimination against women? Of gay people? Or because of her race? Or a stereotype that the three elements create in combination? Norwegian researchers Mari Teigen and Liza Reisel are finding out whether legislation can tackle compound discrimination of this sort.
28.04.2011
High number of Norwegian one-time offenders
As many as one-third of all Norwegian boys will be arrested by the police and charged with a crime, shows research project. For most of them, one brush with the law is sufficient.
27.04.2011
The gender gap decreases
Women still live longer than men, but the difference between the sexes is decreasing. From 2009 to 2010, life expectancy at birth increased by 0.1 years for women and 0.3 years for men, to 83.2 years for women and 78.9 for men. During the last 25 years, the life expectancy in Norway has increased by nearly 6 years for men and almost 3 years for women.
14.04.2011
Greedy private life?
Malaysian IT employees are required to work until 5:30 pm every day, while their Norwegian colleagues often work a flexi-time schedule. So why is it the Norwegians who complain about a time crunch?
14.04.2011
Europe takes note as Norway smashes the glass ceiling
As Europe searches for more ways to achieve gender balance in corporate boardrooms, Norway offers a strikingly simple solution to bring in more women. The problem? A lot of people hate it.
13.04.2011
Monthly earnings up
Women had average monthly earnings of NOK 33 400 in 2010, while the corresponding earnings for men were NOK 39 300. Women’s earnings as a proportion of men’s earnings increased from 84.7 per cent in 2009 to 85 per cent in 2010.
31.03.2011
Must fill the knowledge gap
We need to know more about the recruitment processes in the research sector. This is the message that came through loud and clear when the Research Council of Norway held a workshop on the factors that impede gender balance at the upper levels of research.
31.03.2011
The forgotten philosophers
Why is killing one’s enemies regarded as more important than raising children? This question was posed by the philosopher “Sophia” as early as the 1700s. “Feminist philosophy didn’t emerge in the 1960s. Questions like these have a long-standing tradition in the field,” says philosopher Tove Pettersen of the University of Oslo.
29.03.2011
Women on Board(s)!
Rigmor Aasrud, Minister of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs, participated in the Hearing “Quotas for Gender-Balanced Public Administration?", hosted by the High-level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity in the European Parliament.
24.03.2011
“The action plans must be followed”
If we continue at the current pace, it will take 75 years before half of the senior academic positions are held by women. Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education Tora Aasland believes the institutions have a duty to adopt action plans that speed up the progress.
24.03.2011
Old farms, new men
When traditional Norwegian farming is converted to nature-based agritourism, the gender roles on the farm change. Often the women become the general managers, while the men take over in the kitchen.
17.03.2011
More men than women for first time
In the population, which now counts 4 920 300, more men than women have been registered for the first time. The change from female to male surplus is a result of different demographic conditions over the last hundred years, but migration to and from abroad in the last five years has been most important.
11.03.2011
Efforts for women produce results
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Special Adviser Tore Godal from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been included on a list of the 100 most inspiring people with regard to UN Millennium Development Goal 5 - improving maternal health.
08.03.2011
Practice of female circumcision changes in exile
According to a new book by Professor Aud Talle, most Somalis who live in Norway have changed their attitude towards female circumcision and are now against the practice.
03.03.2011
Norway's statement at Commission on the Status of Women
Ms. Ingrid Fiskaa, State Secretary of International Development, presented Norway's statement during the general debate of the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
25.02.2011
Women, Peace and Security - Norway's strategic plan 2011-13
This new strategic plan on women, peace and security is intended to put us in a better position to enhance women’s influence and participation and strengthen the protection of women during armed conflicts. It provides a framework for ensuring that Security Council resolution 1325 is integrated into all our peace and security efforts.
21.02.2011
PRIO Gender, Peace and Security Update Jan-Feb Issue
This newsletter keeps readers informed of the latest developments both internationally and in Norway in relation to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security and subsequent resolutions.
26.02.2011
Gender policy in Norwegian development cooperation
On February 7th, 2011, Norwegian Ambassador to Bulgaria Tove Skarstein took part in a roundtable discussion dedicated to gender equality entitled "Women- promoters of development". The event was arranged by the Gender Education, Research and Technologies foundation, One World Action and KARAT coalition. Following is the Ambassadors address at the roundtable.
15.02.2011
New tools needed
Despite the increasing awareness about multidimensional discrimination, neither the legislators nor the monitoring agencies are sufficiently well equipped to handle this problem, according to professor of political science Hege Skjeie.
15.02.2011
No women on research centre boards
Five of the 14 Centres for Research-based Innovation (SFI) in Norway do not have women on their boards.
15.02.2011
Debate on maternal health in a global perspective
In his introduction at the ISFIT Student Festival in Trondheim 14 February Foreign Minister Støre said "the lack of gender equality and opportunities for women in many societies may be the most important single obstacle to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals. Particularly important is girls’ access to health, education and means of production."
14.02.2011
NOK 60 million to combat violence against women
Six out of ten women in Uganda say they have been beaten or raped in their own homes. The Norwegian Government has now decided to contribute more than NOK 60 million (USD 10.8 million) to the UN to combat violence against women in the country.
09.02.2011
Lack of cooperation
Civil society organizations for ethnic Norwegian women and minority women cooperate very little with each other. This is one of the findings from Cecilie Thun’s ongoing doctoral research project.
04.02.2011
Norway condemns killing of gay activist
"I am saddened and shocked to hear that the brave and dedicated human rights defender David Kato was killed in his own home yesterday evening," said Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim.
28.01.2011
Steady increase in number of students
Preliminary figures indicate that 6 100 more students were registered at Norwegian universities and colleges in 2010 compared with the previous year. The number of male students has increased the most, but female students are still in the majority.
27.01.2011
Bergen University College receives the Gender Equality Award
“We are very pleased because we have worked systematically to promote gender equality,” says Eli Bergsvik, Rector of Bergen University College.
24.01.2011
New strategic plan on women, peace and security
On 20 January, the Government is launching a new plan for efforts in the area of women, peace and security. The purpose of the plan is to promote women’s participation and enhance the protection of women in conflict-affected countries.
20.01.2011
Underpaid domestic workers
Domestic workers are not covered by collective agreements and regulations that pertain to Norwegian working life. As a result, they find themselves in an especially vulnerable situation - partly because many of them work under conditions that protect the employer, not the worker. Could establishing a minimum price be a solution?
13.01.2011
High percentage in labour
Compared with other countries, a high percentage of the adult population in Norway is in employment. This is mainly due to the majority of Norwegian women being in employment. 7 out of 10 women and almost 8 out of 10 men are currently in employment. Thirty years ago, less than half of all Norwegian women were employed or actively seeking work. There is roughly the same number of employed men today as there was in the mid 1970s.
03.01.2011
Gender Matters
The booklet Gender Matters presents advice and examples on how to better integrate gender issues in South-South-North university cooperation projects in research and education.
28.12.2010
Girls achieve higher marks
Of the pupils who completed lower secondary school in 2010, girls achieved 41.9 school points, whereas boys on average achieved 37.9 points. Girls achieved higher marks in both overall achievement marks and for the examination marks.
17.12.2010
NIKK magasin on minority youth and the West Nordic region
Gender equality among ethnic minority youth. Gender equality in the West Nordic region. Gender and power in politics and business. The new issue of NIKK magasin contains articles on a wide variety of themes.
16.12.2010
Gender equality enhances research quality
By promoting gender equality in research, we enhance the quality and relevance of research, according to Arvid Hallén, Director General of the Research Council of Norway.
14.12.2010
Scars in my heart - eleven women in Norway on trafficking, prostitution and how they escaped
Stories of trafficking and prostitution are stories of many women’s lives. The women who speak in this web exhibition come from ten different countries on four continents.
All of them were looking for a way out and managed to get in contact with an emergency and information hotline for female victims of trafficking to Norway; the ROSA project (Re-establishment, Organizing safe places to stay, Security, Assistance).
All of them were looking for a way out and managed to get in contact with an emergency and information hotline for female victims of trafficking to Norway; the ROSA project (Re-establishment, Organizing safe places to stay, Security, Assistance).
13.12.2010
One third of enterprises with only male employees
Almost half of all enterprises as of 1 January 2009 have both male and female employees. Two out of three enterprises in transport and storage, as well as construction had only male employees. In 18 per cent of all enterprises only women were employed.
09.12.2010
Time for minority quotas?
In most of the Nordic countries, there are political parties that have voluntarily introduced gender quotas. However, quotas for ethnic minorities is regarded as a more problematic issue. At the same time, many women from minority backgrounds think that they are subject to double discrimination.
08.12.2010
Happy despite work-family conflict
Notwithstanding the welfare state, employed mothers in Scandinavia experience just as much conflict between work and family life as mothers in Southern Europe, but the Scandinavian mothers are happier.
01.12.2010
Highlighting Sexual exploitation in Iraq
The Norwegian Church Aid launched monday 29. November their report on Trafficking, Sexual Exploitation and Prostitution of Women and Girls in Iraq. The report sheds light on a problem that has increased significantly during the recent years.
30.11.2010
NOK 1 billion to UNICEF
Norway gives NOK 1 billion to UNICEF’s work on education and girls’ rights.
29.11.2010
An all-out effort for women
The Research Council of Norway is planning a large-scale initiative to increase the recruitment of women to high-level positions and research management.
25.11.2010
Heart disease in children harms mothers’ mental health
Mothers of children with severe heart disease are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression than mothers of healthy children, even once any medical interventions are over.
17.11.2010
Football on high heels
When the men’s national team loses a match they are called “sissies”, and women who are good at football “play like men". Both men and women are the losers when gender stereotypes are used in sports journalism, according to Professor Gerd von der Lippe from Norway.
17.11.2010
Man vs. Woman vs. Planet
Swedish researchers have found that single men use more energy than single women in Greece and Sweden, while gender has a statistically insignificant effect in Norway and Germany.
16.11.2010
New booklet: Talent at stake: On gender-sensitive leadership
The Norwegian Committee for Gender Balance in Research recently published the booklet "Talent at stake. Changing the culture of research - gender-sensitive leadership" as an inspiration for members of the international research community who want to promote greater gender balance within the sector.
12.11.2010
Men of Quality are not afraid of Equality
This was one of the messages that came out of the conference “Reconstructing Manhood?" which took place in Oslo 26-27 October. The conference was the first of its kind in Norway, presenting experiences from engaging men in developing countries to a Norwegian audience.
05.11.2010
Parental responsibility and right of access
When the relationship between two people breaks down, a large number of questions and problems usually have to be solved. A new brochure focuses particularly on questions related to parental responsibility, where children are to live permanently and right of access.
05.11.2010
Decrease in imprisonments of men
In 2008, 90 per cent of the new prisoners were men. The total number of new imprisonments of men decreased, while the new imprisonments of women increased from about 1 100 to 1 150.
04.11.2010
Change of name demands commitment
By changing the name to the Committee for Gender Balance in Research, the KIF Committee has received a stricter mandate for its work. “This sends a signal that gender equality involves more than equal rights," says Mari Teigen, Research Director at the Institute for Social Research.
02.11.2010
A call for stronger leadership
A lack of professional leadership is an obstacle to achieving gender equality in academia, according to Curt Rice, Vice Rector at the University of Tromsø. He is calling for stronger leadership and new ways of working. His first priority is to ensure that more women reach the top.
01.11.2010
PRIO Gender, Peace and Security Update September Issue
The PRIO Gender Peace and Security Update is an electronic newsletter launched by PRIO’s Gender Team in response to growing interest among the public for information about women, peace and security issues. The newsletter will keep readers informed of the latest developments both internationally and in Norway in relation to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security and subsequent resolutions.
15.10.2010
Women, peace and security, ten years on
Defence Minister Grete Faremo presented Norway’s statement to the Security Council when the UN marked the 10 year anniversary for the groundbreaking Security Council resolution on women, peace and security - SCR 1325. Faremo asked the Security Council to show leadership in implementing all resolutions on women, peace and security.
27.10.2010
Men and boys must take part
Men and boys must take an active part in gender equality policy as well as in practice, and the gender perspective must be included in all areas of society. These are some of the important factors which are necessary to create a sustainable society, concluded the Nordic ministers for gender equality at their meeting in October 2010.
18.10.2010
Norwegian WHO Strategy
Norway’s efforts in WHO are to be based on important principles such as respect for human rights, democracy and gender equality. The fight against poverty is a key factor in this respect.
15.10.2010
Patriarchal violence or uncontrolled immigration?
Is forced marriage an immigration problem or violence against women and children? According to researcher Anja Bredal, the Norwegian authorities have not totally made up their minds.
13.10.2010
Individual measures not enough
In order to achieve gender equality, we must change the structures in academia. This requires a systematic effort in which the top-level administration at each institution takes active part, according to Linda Marie Rustad, Senior Adviser for the Committee for Gender Balance in Research.
13.10.2010
Colour blind gender studies
In a large part of the world, not only race but also ‘whiteness’ as an explicit category is an integrated part of gender studies. In Scandinavia, however, we prefer to talk about ethnicity, whereas race is never mentioned, and whiteness only implicitly so.
05.10.2010
Unused medical evidence in sexual assault cases
Medical evidence in sexual assault cases may increase the odds of conviction, but the police often fail to use the documentation gathered at sexual assault centres. What determines whether or not the police make use of the evidence available?
28.09.2010
Trans people (also) deserve equal treatment
For many years, Nordic and European equality policies have had a strong focus on women’s and homosexual rights. Now trans people have become the new minority, attracting increasing attention from politicians.
28.09.2010
Norway to donate NOK 1.4 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
“In many ways, the Fund’s work reflects the great gender equality struggle of our times" comments Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre.
22.09.2010
Trafficking is slavery
We have to consider trafficking in human beings as slavery, says Line Barfod of the Nordic Council. She calls for the work of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) to put an end to human trafficking and forced labour.
15.09.2010
A successful work-life balance
Raising small children without stress, good health and a sense of fairness in the marriage – this is the experience of spouses in the 1970s who shared the responsibility of staying at home with the children while working part-time. Sociologist Margunn Bjørnholt has interviewed these couples 30 years later.
14.09.2010
Do women need gender points?
“It is more important for the universities to become adept at marketing the engineering sciences to women rather than designing measures such as gender points to increase their numbers,” says Svandis Benediktsdottir, Gender Equality Adviser at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
13.09.2010
Regional Centers for Equality and Diversity evaluated
The Work Research Institute has on commission by the Norwegian Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion evaluated the pilot project Regional Centers for Equality and Diversity. Read the English summary of the Norwegian report.
09.09.2010
No gender points for male nursing students
In March, the Norwegian Nurses Organisation voiced its support for giving gender points to men who want to become nurses. Now the Ministry of Education and Research has given its response: There are no plans at this time to introduce such a measure.
03.09.2010
Research by political demand
Politically commissioned research on gender equality and youth of minority background often revolves around the same few issues. What impact do the links between politics and the production of knowledge have on research quality and results?
20.08.2010
Failed the cause of equal pay
In 1959, the Norwegian Parliament ended the practice of establishing lower wage scales for women than for men.
“The Norwegian Employers’ Association used deliberate, cynical means to ensure that female-dominated jobs remained low paying. The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) failed the cause of equal pay by accepting this,” says Professor Inger Bjørnhaug.
“The Norwegian Employers’ Association used deliberate, cynical means to ensure that female-dominated jobs remained low paying. The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) failed the cause of equal pay by accepting this,” says Professor Inger Bjørnhaug.
19.08.2010
Good parental leave designs
New report shows Norway has high levels of both generosity and gender equality in parental leave policy designs.
19.07.2010
“At the limit of what a person can bear”
Most pregnant women whose foetus is proven to have a genetic abnormality choose to have an abortion, but reaching that decision is a painful, exhausting process for most of them. “The women’s doubt, pain and sorrow make abortion more moral - in the eyes of society as well as her own," says Sølvi Marie Risøy, a researcher at the University of Bergen.
19.07.2010
New UN agency for women – first battle won
- The new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women will pump the bulk of its projected US$500 million annual budget into programming to directly benefit the world’s most vulnerable women, but this unprecedented boost may still leave the agency lacking influence and impact, civil society advocates say.
16.07.2010
Gender equality - a key to democracy
Norway provides a substantial contribution to the reduction of social and economic disparities in Europe. Gender equality is a key factor for the development of a democratic society and economic growth. Countries which suppress or exclude girls and women from political, social or economic participation are lagging behind. These countries are slowing down their development.
06.07.2010
Increased number of children in the child welfare service
A total of 46 500 children and youths received assistance from the child welfare service in Norway in 2009. This is an increase of 5.3 per cent compared to 2008. The increase from 2007 to 2008 was 3.6 per cent.
06.07.2010
White and Eurocentric
"Sometimes you have to say to yourself: 'Good God this is a really narrow world!'" Dr. Chandra Talpade Mohanty described the limitations of the academia during the recent conference "Transnational / Global Feminism".
30.06.2010
Gender, Peace and Security Update - new issue
The newsletter keep readers informed of the latest developments both internationally and in Norway in relation to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security and subsequent resolutions.
25.06.2010
Hijab chic
Arranged marriages, genital mutilation, honour-related murders – and hijabs. In the public debate, these tend to be treated as part of the same package. Why does the debate not focus on turbans, capes, caps – and hijabs? Or slimming, shaved legs, bridal veils – and the hijab?
23.06.2010
Merely a maid?
"I like to give someone a chance. So I have an au pair partly for idealistic reasons." Norwegian families with au pairs do not agree that they may be exploiting poor women.
22.06.2010
Gender equality efforts yield results
Four of the five women who took part in the promotion course at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 2008 were promoted this year. May Thorseth is one of them.
18.06.2010
UN resolution 1325 ten years on
Ten years after UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security was adopted by the UN Security Council, the issue of the role of women in war and conflict has achieved a prominent place on the international agenda. Researcher Torunn Tryggestad is concerned that the intense focus on sexual violence weakens the implementation of other crucial aspects of the resolution.
14.06.2010
The boundaries of desire
Post-apartheid South Africa: A white professor is accused of sexually harassing a coloured student and loses his job. His daughter is gang raped by a group of black men. Should the novel Disgrace be interpreted as J. M. Coetzee’s protest again the new South Africa, or is the Nobel Laureate saying something else about violence, desire and empathy?
26.05.2010
Placing gender perspectives higher on the research agenda
The Research Council still has a way to go before the gender dimension is fully integrated into research activity and content. Director General Arvid Hallén is concerned with putting the principles laid down in the Council's overall strategy into practice.
25.05.2010
Extended Action Plan for Women's Rights and Gender Equality in Development Cooperation
The Action Plan for Women's Rights and Gender Equality in Development Cooperation is extended for the period 2010-2013.
24.05.2010
A call for binding measures
Luisa Prista of the European Commission does not want to “fix" female researchers. It is the institutions and research system that need to be changed, she believes. Her goal is that the Member States will be obligated to care about gender equality in research.
19.05.2010
‘We want strong links'
Read an interview with Hilde Klemetsdal, head of the Norwegian MFA's project on Women, Peace and Security, marking the upcoming 10th Anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in October. .
14.05.2010
Better understanding through interdisciplinary alliances
Are gender research and natural science doomed to be on a collision course forever? Absolutely not, according to the Centre for Gender Research at Uppsala University in Sweden, where they specialize in gender research at the interface between nature and culture.
07.05.2010
High immigration and emigration in 2009
In 2009, 65 200 immigrations and 26 550 emigrations were registered. This is the second highest immigration ever, and third highest emigration. Net immigration was 38 650; down 4 700 from the previous year, but the third highest ever registered.
06.05.2010
Have women scored a knockout over men?
Women are taking over the universities, according to the newspapers. But just because the majority of students are women, does this necessarily mean that women will eventually dominate the academic disciplines?
29.04.2010
Six out of ten have married parents
At the turn of the year, 1.1 million children in Norway under 18 years old were living at home with their parents. 57 per cent of these children lived with married parents.
29.04.2010
Woman in the Hot Seat
Interdisciplinarity – this is a topic that Jorunn Økland could happily talk about for hours. As the new director of the Centre for Gender Research at the University of Oslo, she has recently had an unusual number of opportunities to do just that.
22.04.2010
Conference report on parental leave published
What family forms are recognised in established Nordic and welfare policies? Which family values and parental models should be given political priority in a multi-ethnical society? These were some of the questions raised at the conference 'Parental Leave, Care Policies & Gender Equalities in the Nordic Countries' in Reykjavik October 2009. Now the conference report is being published.
21.04.2010
From no women to balance
In just a few short years, they saw the number of women in permanent academic positions go from zero to four. Three of them are now professors. “We needed to strengthen our department and realized that the measures established by the central administration held great potential," explains Jan-Eirik Angell Killie of the Norwegian College of Fishery Science.
21.04.2010
“Excited about what we can accomplish”
“The Kif committee does a crucial job. It will be exciting to serve on it," says Elisabet Ljunggren, Senior Researcher at the Nordland Research Institute. Ljunggren is one of the members of the new Committee for Gender Balance in Research (the Kif committee).
13.04.2010
Parental Leave and Gender Equality
What family forms are recognised in established Nordic welfare policies? Which family values and parental models should be given political priority in a multi-ethnical society? Would part-time leave be ideal from a gender equality perspective? These were some of the questions raised at the conference ‘Parental Leave, Care Policies & Gender Equalities in the Nordic Countries’ in Reykjavik on 22 October 2009. The report is now out.
12.04.2010
Using the body as a weapon
Rape camps, sexual torture and gang rape. In times of war some men become brutal assailants. Many people have asked why this is so. Psychologist Inger Skjelsbæk wants to ask the perpetrators themselves.
07.04.2010
An overview of the Gender quotation on company boards in Norway
- If we neglect the need to empower women, we pay for that neglect by weakening our countries economic performance.
So simple, and yet so complex, says Minister of Children, Equality and Social inclusion, Audun Lysbakken.
30.03.2010
Clear gender equality policies give diplomacy bonus
Gender equality at top level diplomacy in the Nordic countries has improved markedly – the number of female ambassadors is increasing, and young ones are up and coming. This has been achieved by means of set strategies and concrete targets for gender equality.
23.03.2010
Continue to publish less than male colleagues
Women in academia publish 21 per cent less than their male colleagues, and this figure has been stable for nearly 20 years. A new master’s thesis takes a look behind the numbers.
23.03.2010
Women increase board effectiveness
A higher number of women directors leads to greater emphasis on competence-building in the board. A high percentage of women also reduces the board’s conflict level. This has made Norwegian boards more effective, according to a new study from BI Norwegian School of Management.
22.03.2010
Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all
We remember the suffragettes, the rebellions, those who served as beacons of hope for millions who have followed. Today we stand on a solid body of law and policy, says Minister of Children, Equality and Social inclusion Audun Lysbakken in commemoration of the International Women’s Day.
20.03.2010
Challenges remaining after Beijing + 15
- It is no coincidence that all the Nordic countries are ranked among the top seven countries on “The Global Gender Gap Index 2009” and always among the top ten of other international statistics. This is due to our joint efforts! says Minister of Children, Equality and Social inclusion Audun Lysbakken, in a speech at the UN Commision on the status of women.
20.03.2010
Including men for women’s rights and gender equality
- The greatest gains countries can achieve, economically as well politically, come with empowering women, ensuring equal opportunity, health care, and increasing the ratio of women’s active participation in paid working life, says Minister of Children, Equality and Social inclusion Audun Lysbakken, in a speech at the UN Commision on the status of women.
20.03.2010
Adaption in working life and equality for both women and men
- Women are participating almost on an equal footing as men in the labour market, and at the same time establishing families. This did not merely happen. It happened because Norwegian women and men wanted it to happen and politicians took decisions to enable it to happen, says Minister of Children, Equality and Social inclusion Audun Lysbakken in a speech at the UN Commision on the status of women.
20.03.2010
Wage statistics
Full-time employed women had NOK 32 800 in average monthly earnings, while the corresponding figure for men was NOK 35 300. The wage growth from 2008 to 2009 was about NOK 1 200 for both genders.
19.03.2010
Continued increase in kindergartens
At the end of 2009, almost 270 200 children attended kindergarten. For children aged 1-5, 88.5 per cent attended kindergarten. This is an increase of 1.3 percentage points.
15.03.2010
Mediators and bridge-builders
Many large and small conflicts between Somali immigrants and the majority population could be resolved with the help of Somali resource persons. This is the view of Gaudencia Mutema, who compares the integration of Somali refugees in Norway and the USA.
12.03.2010
Recognise, include and support women's participation
There is no reason to shelve gender equality in the Nordic countries. According to five Nordic experts, gender and the climate, female representation in business, and violence against women represent some of the challenges facing the Nordic countries.
09.03.2010
Global interest in Nordic gender equality
"The welfare state has been one of the key reasons why the Nordic Region has made progress towards gender equality," the Norwegian Minister for Gender Equality, Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken, tells the UN. "It has allowed women to combine family and work."
06.03.2010
Nordic Children's and Youth Committee Action Plan 2010–2013
The strategy is based on the following vision: To make the Nordic Region the best place in the world for children and young people.
05.03.2010
The Golden Age of Gender Equality
“We now have a unique historical opportunity to do something about the gender imbalance in Norwegian research," says Professor Hanne Haavind, who has recruiting advice for leaders who want to seize the day.
05.03.2010
"We must combat violence against women"
"As long as women are subjected to violence, we will never achieve gender equality – in the north or the south," Lysbakken, the Norwegian minister, said in his opening speech to delegates from all over the world at the UN CSW in New York.
03.03.2010
Nordic support for new UN entity for gender equality
The Nordic countries support the setting up of a new UN entity for gender equality and the advancement of women. This was apparent when the Nordic ministers for gender equality recently spoke at the UN Session of Commission on the Status of Women (CSW54) and participated in a Nordic seminar.
02.03.2010
Realizing human rights
A main priority for Norway’s membership in the Council is to initiate concrete steps to give real effect to women’s rights and dignity. A key measure is to establish a mandate on laws that discriminate against women, says State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gry Larsen.
02.03.2010
Research results summarised in new brochure
This brochure presents the results of the year-long research project "Gender and power in the Nordic countries", which focused on top positions in two sectors of society: Politics and Business.
25.02.2010
NordForsk Director sees opportunities for gender research
“Nordic gender research is successful and ought to be an area where co-operation creates added Nordic value.” This is an opinion expressed by Gunnel Gustafsson, new Director of NordForsk.
23.02.2010
When feminism legitimizes war
The war in Afghanistan is a war to liberate women, supporters claimed. Eight years later the voices that spoke on behalf of Afghan women have fallen silent. “The women were used in a rhetoric of silence," according to researcher Berit von der Lippe.
22.02.2010
Changing the discipline attracts women
New academic perspectives pave the way for a greater number of women to participate in the discipline, according to Professor of Theology Halvor Moxnes. He has worked hard for the inclusion of gender perspectives in theology, and believes that this is important for the recruitment of female researchers.
22.02.2010
The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences receives the Gender Equality Award for 2009
“A very surprising and generous recognition of our efforts to promote gender equality," says Rector Sigmund Loland.
15.02.2010
Challengers of manliness
Our traditional view of manliness contributes to create a framework in which men can also be victims of sexual abuse, according to Torbjørn Herlof Andersen. The researcher has studied men who have been sexually abused and he shows how they cope with their painful experiences.
04.02.2010
Norwegian support for women in Madagascar
The Royal Norwegian Embassy, Madagascar has provided The Electoral Institute of South Africa with a grant of 6 mill NOK to provide capacity-building support to women in Madagascar to ”increase the participation of women in public problem-solving, decision-making and management institutions by 30% in 2012”.
22.01.2010
To the Committee on the Rights of the Child
Opening address by Minister for Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, Audun Lysbakken, at the examination of Norway’s 4th Periodic report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
21.01.2010
Lysbakken faces questions in Geneva
Norway's Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, Audun Lysbakken, will be questioned by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. He will account for Norway's efforts to fulfill terms of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This will be the first time a Norwegian minister of children's affairs has come before the committee.
21.01.2010
Education for all becoming harder to achieve
With a view to strengthening girls’ right to education, Norway provides NOK 500 million this year to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for its efforts to promote primary education and gender equality.
20.01.2010
Incentive scheme launched
The percentage of women in top-level academic positions in mathematics, natural science and technology must increase. This is according to the Norwegian Government, which has now set aside NOK 10 million to speed up the process. The money will be used to reward universities and university colleges that raise the percentage of female academic staff during 2010.
19.01.2010
Portrait: No prima donna
According to colleagues, she is one of the most important scholars on children and gender in the world. So how come she is proofreading texts for colleagues at the Centre for Gender Research at the University of Oslo?
19.01.2010
Wants to be a role model
“It’s possible for women to be managers in male-dominated research fields. Just come to SINTEF and see for yourself," says Marie-Laure Olivier. She should know what she is talking about. Marie-Laure has always been surrounded by men.
18.01.2010
Unsuccessful strategy
All the fuss about recruitment destroys young women’s interest in natural science, according to educational researcher Guðrún Jónsdóttir.
08.01.2010
Commission on Child Welfare Experts
A commission has been created to strengthen legal protections in child welfare cases by exerting quality control of all reports submitted by forensic experts in such cases, whether the reports are ordered by child welfare officials, county social welfare boards, the courts or the private parties involved.
08.01.2010
A balancing act
Getting married was not the only way for a woman to live her life, even in the 1800s. As art historian Jorunn Veiteberg shows in her new biography of the Norwegian sculptor Ambrosia Tønnesen, an alternative lifestyle was not necessarily filled with self-denial and loneliness.
21.12.2009
The door opener
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).
18.12.2009
Regional differences in gender equality
The municipalities with most equality are mainly found in the central and inland area of Eastern Norway. Many municipalities with the most equality are also found in the municipalities of Sogn og Fjordane, Troms and Finnmark. All of the six largest towns and cities - Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Tromsø – are also among the municipalities with most equality
17.12.2009
Norway co-hosts debate on rights of sexual minorities
Human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity was the topic of a panel debate that Norway organized with the UN Permanent Missions of Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, France and the Netherlands.
09.12.2009
Always aware
“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.”
11.12.2009
Harassment leads to sport drop-out
Studies suggest that sexual harassment can cause female athletes to leave the field of sport. “This means that harassment may lead to big losses for sport,” says Professor Kari Fasting, Norway’s foremost expert on the subject.
09.12.2009
Norway in UNHRC: Will promote human rights worldwide
Norway is a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the period 2009-2012. We will participate actively in the Council and work systematically to strengthen the rights of women and children.
08.12.2009
Gender equality – a leadership responsibility
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.
03.12.2009
Women not embarrassed by quota law
There isn’t much to say about the recent law on gender quotas in public joint stock companies. It has been introduced, and it works, says Siri Fürst, board member in one of Norway’s approximately 400 joint stock companies.
24.11.2009
The gatekeepers need to be pressured
There are far more women in the Norwegian government than there are in top positions within the Norwegian world of business. Why is this the case?
24.11.2009
Effort to end violence against women
Norway's Minister of Justice, Knut Storberget, has long campaigned to get men to condemn violence against women, both at home and abroad. Recently he helped launch the UN Secretary-General's Network of Men Leaders to end violence against women, in New York.
24.11.2009
Norway provides NOK 60 million to promote women’s rights
Norway will provide NOK 40 million (USD 7 million) to UN efforts to combat female genital mutilation and violence against women in developing countries. At the same time, Norway will contribute NOK 20 million (USD 3.5 million) to the new UN Fund for Gender Equality.
24.11.2009
Action plan to combat domestic violence
We must take action. It is our responsibility to safeguard the right of both women and men to a life free of violence and threats of violence, and to ensure that children can grow up without suffering abuse or fear. Through improved prevention, more detection, more rapid reaction and better rehabilitation, we will promote a safer, fairer society.
24.11.2009
Child care: Parents’ private problem?
Scandinavian parents have no doubt that the state is responsible for providing day care centres for children from the age of one. In much of Europe, though, day care for children is a private problem for parents, which they must solve with the least amount of trouble for their bosses and colleagues.
23.11.2009
Greater equality in politics, business lags behind
Pressure from the women's movement and the attention paid to gender-equality issues have been crucial to women's progress in politics in the Nordic countries over the last 15 years. However, men still dominate business and industry, according to a comprehensive Nordic research project on gender and power in politics and business.
18.11.2009
Why women can't ski jump in the Winter Olympics
Women ski jumpers sue for the right to compete in the Vancouver Olympics and to stop men from jumping if women can't. Also Norwegian female ski jumpers have been active in the effort to allow women compete in the Olympic Games. As late as February this year the first women's ski jumping world championship were held.
11.11.2009
New report: Few women leaders in the research institute sector
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.
10.11.2009
Equality ministers discuss gender and the financial crisis
It is important to be aware that economic crises affect the genders differently. There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that it is young men in the Nordic Region who are facing the toughest time on the job market in the wake of the crisis.
05.11.2009
Not feminized, but modernized
In the public debate Norwegian schools are criticized for being feminized. But according to Professor Harriet Bjerrum Nielsen, it is not the schools that are poorly suited to boys - it is the girls who are better suited to the demands of modern working life.
04.11.2009
Commitment to gender equality will continue
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.
22.10.2009
Speech at the Third EU Anti Trafficking Day
Norway is a destination country. Victims of trafficking are recruited outside Norway’s borders. We wish to prevent trafficking by reducing some of the factors that support recruitment in countries of origin.
20.10.2009
Successful Russian crisis centres
The health services, police and judicial system in Russia tend not to understand that women need protection against violence within the home. But Russian crisis centres have become quite adept at manoeuvring within the system to help women who are victims of domestic violence, says political scientist Kirsti Stuvøy.
19.10.2009
Advance women, advance all
When the UN General Assembly today discussed the main challenges to the advancement of women, Norway pointed to the root causes of the problem: Conservative and archaic attitudes, often with cultural and religious connotations, leave women and girls at the margins of society in many parts of the world.
12.10.2009
More women in technology
2009 seems to be a record-breaking year concerning gender balance in the technology department at the University of Oslo. 35 per cent of the doctor’s degrees were conferred to women.
07.10.2009
Change from the top down
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.
02.10.2009
An eye for the unseen
Eye, space and body - these are three key words that apply not only to the work of art historian Anne Wichstrøm on female artists from 1850 to 1900, but also to her own life.
01.09.2009
A Woman’s Place is in the Boardroom
A BBC World News documentary about the change in the Norwegian company law regarding quota regulations demanding 40 per cent representation of each gender in boards.
28.09.2009
Integration of a gender perspective in the Universal Periodic Review
There are several issues posing gender related challenges in Norway. In addition to a broader chapter on gender equality, the UPR-report addresses issues such as trafficking, forced marriages, multiple forms of discrimination, lack of women on the boards of limited companies and gender based differences in wages.
28.09.2009
Norway condemns violations of human rights
The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo must take necessary action and the international community must assist. Rapists and perpetrators of sexual violence against women and girls must be held accountable and punished, says ambassador Bente Angell-Hansen.
22.09.2009
Women NGOs are important in political strategies
Norway encourages Gambia and Senegal to listen to women NGOs in their work to end forced marriages, female genital mutilation and other important women's issues.
22.09.2009
Always a difficult choice?
The presumed vulnerability of women seeking an abortion limits the Norwegian debate on abortion - in both directions.
15.09.2009
Commission on Paternity
The Norwegian Government is concerned with major social and technological developments that have taken place with regard to developments in family patterns, the possibility of assisted fertilisation and establishment of paternity with a high degree of certainty, and has thus appointed a Commission.
11.09.2009
Rigid structures and reluctant men
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.
04.09.2009
Half of young females have higher education
Half of the females aged 25 to 29 years have now attained a tertiary education. Less than 30 per cent of the population in Norway has attained less than upper secondary education, and at least one out of five have higher education in all counties.
25.08.2009
Parodic, political pop
Artists such as David Bowie, Morrissey and Robbie Williams have changed our ideas about what a man is and should be, according to Stan Hawkins, who has written a book on the phenomenon of pop dandyism.
19.08.2009
Norway and the US build hospital for rape victims in DR Congo
Norway and the US are joining forces to build a hospital for the victims of sexualised violence in eastern Congo. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the new Norwegian-American initiative when she visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo this week.
14.08.2009
Award strengthens commitment
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.
10.08.2009
Mapping of fathers' use of paternity and parental leaves
How frequently do Nordic fathers use paternity leaves? And what share of the parental leave periods is used by fathers? These questions are addressed by researcher Anita Haataja in her newly published working paper.
17.07.2009
Action Plan for Gender Equality
Gender equality work requires us to act here and now but also entails systematic and long-term work on attitudes. This Action Plan deals with the most important measures the Ministry of Education and Research wishes to implement to promote gender equality in kindergartens and primary and secondary education and training.
15.07.2009
Partner violence continues after break-up
Violence inflicted by an intimate partner lasts longer if the couple has children together, and the violence continues after the relationship ends. In addition, children are harmed more by witnessing violence between their parents than previously thought.
09.07.2009
Dangerous boys – unprotected girls
When children are placed in state custody, their gender is not irrelevant. Society must be protected against the boys, while the girls must be protected against society and themselves.
24.06.2009
A golden opportunity
National action plans to implement the European Research Area (ERA) are now being drawn up. Hans M. Borchgrevink of the Research Council of Norway believes this is the chance to put gender equality on the EU’s agenda, but quick action is required.
24.06.2009
Public policies supporting the wish to have children
Family policy shall facilitate the reconciliation of family and work-life, and assure both parents and the single provider the possibility to combine family life and work. Today, there is a web of arrangements, schemes and legal measures for families with children designed to reconcile family and work, says State Secretary Lotte Grepp Knutsen in a speach held at the Council of Europe Conference of Ministrers responsible for family affairs.
24.06.2009
Women and violence – from UN resolutions to practice
We all have to do our part to bring crimes of rape and sexual violence in armed conflict and crisis higher on the international security policy agenda. The systematic use of rape is a war crime. It is not a “women’s issue" alone; it is a core security issue of our time and requires strategic comprehensive response from all relevant parts of the international community, says State Secretary for International Development Håkon Arald Gulbrandsen.
19.06.2009
The Minister speaks about transgender health
The right to live a safe life without harassment is a basic Human right. It needs to be at the centre of any government’s attention, says Minister of Children and Equality Anniken Huitfeldt.
19.06.2009
Statistics on kindergartens
Only nine per cent of the employees in kindergartens are men. 96 per cent of children aged 3-5 years attend kindergarten, and nine out of ten children in kindergarten attend full-time places.
15.06.2009
Wants more gender equality
Ulla-Britt Lilleaas has been appointed the new leader of the Center for Gender and Equality at the University of Agder. One of the things she wants to focus on is why the Agder region, in the south of Norway, frequently scores low on gender equality indexes.
10.06.2009
New interest in networks
- We are finding that we fill a gap, says Laila Bokhari, who is coordinator of Women and Security, one of the 15 new and existing networks gaining new impetus this spring with funding from the Committee for Mainstreaming - Women in Science.
28.05.2009
Less females completed tertiary education
Less females completed tertiary education for the first time in several years in 2007/08. Fewer tertiary degrees were completed in particular in the field of Health, welfare and sport, but the number remained stable in Science. Forty-five per cent of doctoral degrees were awarded to women.
26.05.2009
Lego - not for girls?
In kindergarten the boys make lots of noise and play with Lego, but they also like to spend time playing with dolls. The girls, on the other hand, stick to doing “girls’ stuff". A new report concludes that Norwegian kindergartens are failing to promote gender equality.
20.05.2009
New white paper on research policy
In April 2009 the Norwegian Government presented a new white paper on research policy. In the report the Government confirms its commitment to gender equality in research, but critics say progress is too slow.
11.05.2009
Wants science girls to tell their stories
The majority of young girls reject science studies, but not everyone. What makes girls choose these male-dominated subjects? That is what researcher Marianne Løken wants to find out.
05.05.2009
Norwegian Gender Privilege: A View from the American Academy
Marcia Inhorn, who is Professor II at the University of Bergen, here gives her view on the situation for women in science in Norway and the U.S. She perceives Norway as a gender progressive country and is impressed by the “gender privilege" she finds Norwegian women researchers to have.
04.05.2009
The narrow framework of transsexualism
It is often said that transsexuals are “born in the wrong body". But does “the right body" have to be either a woman’s or a man’s body?
17.04.2009
Speech at the International Conference on Female Genital Mutilation in the EU
The first Norwegian Action Plan to combat FGM was published in 2000. The present plan, which is the 3rd one, runs till 2011. Its main objective is prevention. The focus is on changing attitudes through dialogue and dissemination of information involving the groups concerned. Changing perceptions and attitudes will take time, but we believe this to be the right approach in the long run, says State Secretary Lotte Grepp Knutsen.
17.04.2009
Excellent – but not equal
More men than women receive funding when the Research Council of Norway grants money for outstanding research. Susanne Moen Stephansen has looked at how the attempts to bring more gender equality into these schemes have worked.
01.04.2009
Nordic Statement on UN Gender Reform
A joint Nordic statement was given in informal consultations on System Wide Coherence by Morten Wetland, Ambassador of Norway to the UN.
30.03.2009
White Paper on male roles and gender equality
Read the White Paper Document from the government to Stortinget (Parliament) on male roles and gender equality.
29.03.2009
No earmarking of posts
In November last year Tora Aasland promised to implement earmarking of temporary posts for women. Now the Efta Surveillance Authority (ESA) has put a stop to these plans.
27.03.2009
Norway: - Gender Equality is Smart Politics
Gender equality as an economic and competitive advantage is among the main messages the Norwegian Minister of Equality has to the UN Commission on the Status of Women while heading the Norwegian delegation. As Norway was ranked world no. 1 on gender equality in the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report 2008, many states are eager to get some ideas from the Norwegian experience.
25.03.2009
Just as fertile today
Despite an enormous increase in working women: Norwegian women of today get about as many children as their mothers. The career woman who chooses not to have children or waits until she is 40, is more of a media myth than a widespread reality, according to Statistics Norway researchers Trude Lappegård and Turid Noack.
25.03.2009
Demand for gender equality in climate negotiations
Men drive cars and women use public transport. Therefore women and men have different degrees of impact on the climate. This was noted at the Nordic Summit in Copenhagen by experts who want the next UN climate agreement to be gender mainstreamed.
24.03.2009
Prostitution legislation: Will they go the same way?
In just a few years, the body of legislation on prostitution in the Nordic countries has undergone an epoch-making development and become more uniform. The reason for this is the increase in trafficking in humans in the region. Nevertheless, there is not total agreement on the best way to go forward.
19.03.2009
Gender Equality and Quality of Life. A Norwegian Perspective
Norway was recently ranked as number one in an international gender gap index (World Economic Forum). Developments in Norway are relevant for understanding how gender equality can be achieved. In order to find out more about men, women and gender equality, a representative survey was made in Norway in 2007, which was more detailed and comprehensive than earlier survey research.
18.03.2009
Include men's perspective in the climate debate
Women and men are equally responsible for creating a sustainable world, therefore the Nordic Region is promoting gender equality in the UN’s climate negotiations. The Nordic Council of Ministers hosted a seminar on gender equality and climate change attended by a large number of international delegates during the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York
09.03.2009
Different research practices amongst women and men
A recent report from the Norwegian research institute NIFU STEP shows that men outnumber women within commercial and business-oriented research and that female researchers are less involved in international collaboration and peer review than their male colleagues.
05.03.2009
Putting gender on the climate agenda
The Nordic Council of Ministers for Gender Equality is taking part in the 53rd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW53) this week, where the Nordic focus is on gender equality as an important part of solutions to climate problems.
04.03.2009
Gender Equality as Competitive Advantage
The Norwegian Minister of Children and Equality emphasises the economic advantages at the seminar Gender Equality as Competitive advantage - Norwegian and American experiences in business, society and policy.
04.03.2009
Statement on the Commission on the Status of Women
"Gender equality and more equal participation in the work-force, or in the unpaid care, helps economic growth. They improve the competitive edge of our economy", said the Norwegian Minister of Children and Equality Anniken Huitfeldt to the 53rd session of CSW.
04.03.2009
Women's ski-jumpers leap to equality
Women will throw themselves off a ski-jumping hill for world championship gold on Friday in another big leap for gender equality in sport. "All the women ski jumpers are excited about the season and the world championship," says American jumper Lindsey Van. The Norwegian ski jumper Anette Sagen has won almost 40 competitions and lifted the Continental Cup trophy all four seasons it has been held so far.
16.02.2009
A story of success
All of a sudden there was no escape: Publicly listed companies in Norway had to comply with the law requiring a 40 % female quota for board members. And indeed: It quickly worked. What happened?
13.02.2009
”You'll regret it later”
Freedom is a key aspect for women who choose not to have children. But it is a controversial decision and many women have to face strong reactions regarding their choice. Being childfree has become more difficult, says Tove Ingebjørg Fjell.
29.01.2009
FORUT affiliates to new global network for gender equality
A global network - MenEngage - for involving men in promoting gender equality is now being established. FORUT Norway has joined the network. The new network has been initiated by a core group of 8-9 international NGOs in cooperation with selected UN agencies.
21.01.2009
Will guide women to the top
Hierarchies and lack of management prevent women from climbing to the top in academia, says Curt Rice, the new Pro-Rector at the University of Tromsø. He calls for more management and different work methods at the university.
20.01.2009
Bigger gender gaps in rich countries
There is little difference in how Ghanaian girls and boys view science education and technology. In Norway, Sweden, Finland and England, on the other hand, the gender gap regarding what the pupils are interested in is huge.
20.01.2009
On Equal Terms
Report number 11 to the Norwegian Storting, On Equal Terms: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in International Development Policy.
18.01.2009
Portrait: A celebrating queer missionary
He saw the light in the United States in the seventies. Since then, associate professor Pål Bjørby has been committed to feminist research. Recently he turned sixty.
09.01.2009
Inclusive education – a means for social inclusion
Individuals are different, yet every individual has a potential for learning. Access to adequate quality education should be given to every individual regardless of personal features and gender, as well as ethnic, religious, sexual, social, economic and geographical factors, says State Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Research, Lisbet Rugtvet.
05.01.2009
Gender Equality 2009?
Objectives, strategy and measures for ensuring gender equality
The report sets out the Ministry’s objectives and strategies for promoting gender equality, and the challenges that must be addressed. It points out areas where more efforts are needed and gives specific examples of the Government’s work for gender equality.
The report sets out the Ministry’s objectives and strategies for promoting gender equality, and the challenges that must be addressed. It points out areas where more efforts are needed and gives specific examples of the Government’s work for gender equality.
18.12.2008
Bringing HIV into the family
HIV and AIDS strike more African women than men, and the consequences of being open about one’s disease may be greater for women. Norwegian researchers have looked at how this affects whether women in Malawi show up for prenatal check-ups.
12.12.2008
One in five enterprises with only female employees
Almost half of all enterprises have both male and female employees. Secondary education dominates as the highest education level among employees in enterprises. In one out of three enterprises only men were employed by 1 January 2007. With 63 per cent, this share was highest within construction. 18 per cent of all enterprises had female employees exclusively. The share was highest within health and social services with 50 per cent of the enterprises.
12.12.2008
May promote gender equality
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.
03.12.2008
Promises more science students
The corporate world needs more scientists, but few young people choose a career in science. Will we finally break the science code? The IRIS project not only aims to understand how youth make their career choices and why they, and particularly girls, choose or reject the natural sciences. The researchers also promise to offer advice on science education in schools, how recruitment campaigns ought to be shaped and which measures that are the best to retain students of the natural sciences.
03.12.2008
Gender balance on company boards
Companies have to compete for the best brainpower and skills, often at an international level. It goes without saying that one has to look for this amongst the whole population, says Director General Arni Hole in the Ministry of Children and Equality.
01.12.2008
Listen to your body
The health authorities claim that pelvic girdle pain is a common complaint during pregnancy. Pregnant women online take it a bit more seriously.
27.11.2008
"Diversity is a value in itself - it creates wealth"
Norway's quota law was the brainchild of an unlikely feminist: a 53-year-old Conservative trade and industry secretary and former businessman, Ansgar Gabrielsen, who served in a previous cabinet. Gabrielsen's focus was less about gender equality and more about "the fact that diversity is a value in itself, that it creates wealth".
17.11.2008
The rise of the Valkyries: Norwegian women take their place at the top
A law introduced in 2003 has given Norway the world's highest ratio of female company directors. 44.2 % of board seats are held by women, while only 11.5 % in England or 26.9 % in Sweden.
17.11.2008
Speech by the Minister of Children and Equality at EU-meeting
The overall picture of Norway - as seen from outside - is that we are amongst the forerunners in Europe regarding Gender Equality. However we have one of Europe`s most divided labour markets. Moreover, we have relatively few women in leadership positions! But things are about to change.
14.11.2008
Norway leads in closing the gender gap
Norway tops the Global gender gap index, with Finland and Sweden next. Norway is ranked on top in educational attainment, second in political empowerment, and sixth in economic participation and possibilities, but only as 53rd when it comes to health and survival.
November 2008
EU-meeting of the ministers responsible for equality between women and men
The EU ministers responsible for equality between women and men are to meet on 14 November 2008 in Lille.
Two issues will be on the agenda: reducing wage gaps and best practices in terms of professional equality in companies.
Two issues will be on the agenda: reducing wage gaps and best practices in terms of professional equality in companies.
12.11.2008
Witnesses in human trafficking cases to be granted residence in Norway
The Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion has sent instructions to the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) with a view to ensuring that people who testify in criminal cases relating to human trafficking are given residence permits.
11.11.2008
Disturbing the peace
Prostitution is to an increasing extent considered a disturbance of the peace, while social measures receive less attention. This is one of the conclusions that the research project Prostitution in the Nordic region has drawn.
10.11.2008
Few professorships in female-dominated study programmes
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.
31.10.2008
Gender and Migration. Similarities and disparities among women and men in the immigrant population
This report gathers part of the data available on women and men with immigrant backgrounds in Norway collected by Statistics Norway. This report provides information on significant pieces of the multifaceted picture that women and men with immigrant backgrounds represent, and compared with women and men in the total population.
October 2008
Our Mother in heaven
Is God sexualized by being called “mother"? The debate on a gender-inclusive language in Christian liturgy shows how primitive the notion of God is amongst some Norwegian theologians, says theologian Merete Thomassen.
22.10.2008
Gender Equality in Higher Education and Research
Speech given by state secretary Jens Ryvold, Ministry of Education and Research, at a Swiss-Norwegian dialogue meeting to discuss strategies for gender equality in science.
22.10.2008
Bishops say no to gay church weddings
Despite a gender-neutral marriage law coming into force in January, Norwegian bishops have decided to say no to church weddings for gay couples.
08.10.2008
Major increase for rainforest, women and education
The Government is giving priority to the rainforest, education, and women’s rights and gender equality in the international development budget. “No other government has increased funding as much as we have," said Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim.
07.10.2008
Norway allocates NOK 1 billion for girls’ education
The Government has decided to allocate NOK 1 billion to promote education for girls through UNICEF’s work on supporting Education for All in developing countries. The announcement was made today by Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim at a high-level event arranged by UNESCO in New York.
23.09.2008
An advocate of gender equality
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.
14.09.2008
Welcomes earmarking
Norwegian higher education institutions are positive to earmarking of posts for women. - I support it wholeheartedly and I am glad that it will be incorporated into the National Budget, says vice-rector at the University of Oslo, Inga Bostad.
14.09.2008
Aasland promises earmarking in 2009
Minister of Education and Research Tora Aasland promises to reintroduce earmarking of posts for women in academia in 2009. She stated that we still have a long way to go when it comes to gender balance in academia.
14.09.2008
Older women are active members
The proportion of the population that are members of various organisations stays the same, but a declining part is active. Three of four members in women’s associations were active. In particular older women are members and active.
12.09.2008
Norway rates tenth in educational attainment
The female proportion of those awarded advanced research degrees has increased since 2000. Average female proportion of awarded doctorates for all OECD countries was more than 43 per cent. Portugal and Iceland have the largest female proportions among awarded doctorates, 60 and 53 per cent respectively.
09.09.2008
Building a Europe for and with children: Developing child participation
Speech by State Secretary in the Ministry of Children and Equality, Kjell Erik Øie, about the importance of strenghtening the children's participation in communities.
09.09.2008
Overshadowed by Grieg
Agathe Backer Grøndahl was considered to be one of Norway’s most prominent pianists at the end of the 1800s and dedicated one of her works to the feminist Aasta Hansteen. Now all her music will be released on cd.
05.09.2008
Encourages research on gender specific health
State Secretary Jan-Erik Støstad in the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion says research on work environment and occupational health is an important means in promoting a more inclusive workplace and labour market. A new research program will among other study working time arrangements and the extent to which varying working conditions are systematically gender specific.
28.08.2008
Inspiring meeting in Spain
Gender equality has been a priority in Spain the last years. But in the research sector little has changed. At the conference Women’s Worlds in Madrid Spanish scientists were inspired by Norway.
21.08.2008
Discreet gay life
- In accounts of the history of gay liberation, the past is typically portrayed as dark and sinister, and contrasted to a bright and happy present, says anthropologist Hans W. Kristiansen. He has written about discreet gay life in Norway from 1920-1970, and wants to question the stereotypical images of the past.
12.08.2008
Conclusions from the Men's Panel
The Men’s Panel was appointed by the Government to discuss issues concerning gender equality and men. The Conclusive Memorandum of the Men’s Panel with the Panel’s recommendations regarding measures is now published.
16.07.2008
Mom and dad or egg and sperm cell?
What consequences does the Norwegian policy for biotechnology have for the individual? Has God been replaced by genetic determinism? And why can’t two friends get help to make a baby together? These were questions that were addressed at the conference "The future of assisted reproduction".
30.06.2008
New law grants gay couples marriage rights
Gay couples in Norway will be granted the same rights as heterosexuals to marry, adopt and undergo artificial insemination under a new equality law.
17.06.2008
The Invisible Children
Was it a boy, or a girl? What happens when the answer to the very first question is “we’re not quite sure"? Marit Vaula Rasmussen is doing research on the intersex children, children who are born with an indefinite gender.
11.06.2008
Gender mainstreaming and the climate debate
Since women and men have different impacts on the climate, and climate change affects them differently, a gender-equality perspective needs to be integrated into the whole climate debate, the Nordic ministers responsible for gender equality have concluded
28.05.2008
Norway’s first professor in men and masculinities research
More men in this particular academic field and more masculinity is what the Norwegian research community can expect after the appointment of Norway’s first professor in gender equality and masculinity research at the Centre for Gender Research at the University of Oslo.
20.05.2008
Norwegian Intervention
Norway gives a high priority to gender equality. We are convinced that a greater overall emphasis on gender equality in the region will enhance the overall transition impact of the Bank. We therefore welcome the EBRD's decision to draft an action plan to develop policy in this field and Norway will follow this work closely.
19.05.2008
Women and International Careers
Through interviews with 23 women and two men who all have experience with living and working abroad, it has been gathered information about the possibilities and challenges these individuals have experienced through option for an internation career. The objectives have been to provide recruitment advice aimed at a future, international, labour market, and to inspire women standing on the threshold to the great, big world to dare take the plunge.
19.05.2008
Gender and Pay. Facts, analyses and measures to promote equal pay
I Norway, women are almost as economically active as men, although there are still certain differences between the sexes. A Commission appointed by the Norwegian Cabinet has provided an overview over differences between women's and men's pay and considered measures to reduce pay differences.
16.05.2008
Celebrating and summing up gender research
The Research Council's gender research programme for the period 2001-2007, Gender Research: Knowledge, Boundaries, Change, was concluded at a well-attended, fruitful conference in Oslo on 15 April 2008. The wide variety of conference activities ranged from lectures and a researcher marathon to stands, book presentations and films. A new programme will now carry on the efforts in gender research for the period up to 2012.
08.05.2008
Continued population growth
The population is projected to rise considerably in the years to 2060. The most important reason for this increase is continued immigration. The immigration surplus is expected to increase further in the next few years, followed by a decrease. However, the uncertainty in these projections is considerable. Life expectancy is expected to increase from 78.2 years for men and 82.7 years for women in 2007 to between 84.0 and 87.9 years for men and between 87.7 and 92.7 for women in 2060.
08.05.2008
A rising number of female rectors
In Norway one in three university and university college rectors are women - an increase of 75 per cent in two years. All the same, we are having a hard time catching up with our Swedish neighbours, who, thanks to network building, are close to achieving full balance between the sexes.
07.05.2008
Lively gender research conference
Is it true that Swedish feminists are angrier than the Norwegian? Why do Russian women think that gender equality is more typically Norwegian than anything else? How come transsexuals seem to be rather uninterested in sex? These were just some of the issues that were addressed at the Gender Research Programme’s closing conference.
05.05.2008
Stop Human Trafficking
Trafficking in human beings entails serious abuse of human dignity. We will not sit still and allow increasingly widespread trafficking, especially trafficking in women and children, to develop into a modern slave trade. The Government has presented a new plan of action that contains stronger and updated measures, says Knut Storberget, Norwegian Minister of Justice.
April 2008
Higher share of women working full time
The share of women working full time was 57 per cent in the first quarter of 2008, up one percentage point from the corresponding quarter in 2007. The share of full-time employment was 87 per cent for men, unchanged from the first quarter of 2007.
30.04.2008
A high female ratio changes attitudes
The level of female political representation affects our attitudes toward female politicians more than vice versa, claims political scientist Johannes Bergh in a new dissertation.
22.04.2008
Norway proposes jail, fines for buying sex
The Norwegian government proposes to fine or jail clients of prostitutes for up to six months in a bid to stamp out human trafficking, and says the law would also apply to its citizens abroad.
18.04.2008
Minister Erik Solheim joins proactive effort to promote women’s empowerment
“Women must be given more power. It makes economic sense. We will simply not be able to eradicate poverty if half the population is barred from political and economic participation," said Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim.
17.04.2008
Project report: About networks for female scientists
The Committee for Mainstreaming - Women in Science has looked at the need for a collaborative effort to build networks for female scientists in Norway. The pilot project found that there was an interest in strengthening and co-ordinating the networks.
02.04.2008
Women and International Careers
The percentage of employees working abroad for major Norwegian companies has doubled the last 15 years, but women are under-represented in this work force. What are the challenges and possibilities when opting for an international career?
April 2008
Gender and Migration. Similarities and disparities among women and men in the immigrant population
This report provides information on significant pieces of the multifaceted picture that women and men with immigrant backgrounds represent, and compared with women and men in the total population. Four main subjects are included: Demographic structure and change, education, labour market participation and childcare and cash benefit.
01.04.2008
- Physics can be feminine
The world will be a better place if more girls become engineers, says Camilla Schreiner. She does research on the connection between gender and choosing a career within the Natural Sciences.
17.03.2008
- Physics can be feminine
The world will be a better place if more girls become engineers, says Camilla Schreiner. She does research on the connection between gender and choosing a career within the Natural Sciences.
17.03.2008
Norway in Focus - Women over the Tipping Poing
The International Museum of Women takes a closer look upon Norway and their numbers regarding gender equality. Despite the small number of inhabitants, Norway seem to have made quite a few achievements, and status quo is presented.
march 2008
Boosting gender equality in Norwegian research
In 2006, 83% of all full professors in Norway were men. At the same time, over half of the students at the highest levels of study were women. There is a systematic and dramatic under-recruitment of women to research careers in Norway. Now the Research Council has adopted a gender equality policy to help improve the situation.
12.03.2008
Could Norway's gender laws lead the way?
New legislation has given its boardrooms the highest proportion of female non-execs in the world. Employment inequality is still the norm in boardrooms across the globe, where men in suits continue to dominate both exec and non-exec roles. Yet new legislation in Norway has effectively addressed this imbalance.
06.03.2008
Towards a solution in the earmarking case
The Ministry of Education and Research is requesting the KiF Committee to prepare models ensuring women employment in academic positions in male dominated fields. This autumn, the Ministry will announce the measures the various institutions can make use of.
29.02.2008
Anniken Huitfeldt new minister
In today’s session of the Council of State the Crown Prince Regent has appointed Ms. Anniken Huitfeldt (38), Member of Storting, Jessheim, as Minister of Children and Equality as of today at 12.30 pm.
29.02.2008
Smørbrød and the Stock Exchange: Navigating Norwegian Culture
Lauren Osen came to Norway to study the country’s recent gender quota law for ASA companies’ corporate boards, but also had to contend with the peculiar lunch habits of the natives!
20.02.2008
Two winners of the Award for Gender Equality 2007
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of Tromsø (UiT) share this year’s Award for Gender Equality, worth two million Norwegian kroner. - I do hope this will inspire more people to work for gender equality, Tora Aasland, minister of Research and Higher Education said during the award-giving ceremony.
15.02.2008
Equal Opportunity for All – also in Traffic
The year of 2007 was declared the year of equal opportunity for all in Europe. However, a brand new report on "gender and transportation" shows that when it comes to travel patterns, this caption is an ideal rather than a fact.
08.02.2008
Nordic Countries Top The World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index
The five Nordic countries, which also perform consistently well in the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness rankings, all continue to hold a place among the top 10, with Sweden (1), Norway (2), Finland (3), Iceland (4) and Denmark (8) in the same positions as last year.
08.02.2008
Raging pop clichés
Shaking buttocks, homophobic hip-hoppers, pimped-up lady singers and hypermacho cock rock... The world of music videos is abundant with clichés regarding gender, race, class and sexuality. But according to musicologist Marita Buanes, there are exceptions that challenge this.
04.02.2008
More female chairmen in Norway
Facts and figures after the municipal council and county council election in 2007.
29.01.2008
On Equal Terms: Women's rights and gender equality in international development policy
Women’s participation and women’s rights are of paramount importance if we are to realise the vision for the world’s future enshrined in the UN Millennium Declaration, says the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the halfway mark between 2000 and 2015, we must acknowledge that the UN Millennium Development Goals on poverty eradication will not be achieved unless women are put centre stage.
18.01.2008
Women's clothes – men's desire
According to the teaching, Laestadian girls who dress inappropriately “stimulate the lust of the flesh". This may lead both girls and boys to perdition. Through the length of their skirts girls convey their loyalty or distance to the congregation, according to religion historian Torjer Olsen.
17.01.2008
Power Resistance – The Impact of Gender Concerning Relation Between Minorities and Majorities
Minister of Children and Equality, Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen, speaks about the necessity to integrate gender perspectives in the new National Plan of Action against racism and discrimination, at the FEMM-network's conference Power and Resistance. What is the impact of gender concerning relations between minorities and majorities?
14.01.2008
Summary of articles on the 40% gender balance on public limited boards rule
On 1 January 2008, the Norwegian law requiring a minimum of 40% represention of either gender on public limited boards came into effect. In this article, we gather the links to the available English-language information on the topic.
10.01.2008
Higher electoral turnout
The total electoral turnout in the municipal and county council election in September 2007 was 61.7 per cent, an increase of 2.4 percentage points compared to the 2003 election. The number of elected female representatives increased both in the municipal councils and county councils.
04.01.2008
"Diversity – not equality"
Norway’s demand for 40 per cent female board members is unique. How could such a radical gender equality measure be implemented in a business world which is opposed to quotas? And by a minister from the anti-quota Conservative Party?
18.12.2007
Women and men in Tromsø most equal
The gender equality index for 2007 reveals considerable differences between Norwegian municipalities. Women and men in Tromsø are most equal, followed by Namsos in Nord-Trøndelag. On county level, Oslo and Akershus have the highest score, while Vest-Agder, Aust-Agder and Møre og Romsdal have the lowest score.
14.12.2007
Can women with hijab be emancipated?
- The debate surrounding the use of hijab may indicate that sexuality currently is the main gender equality issue, while economy appears to be of less importance. These are the words of Berit Gullestad, who has analysed the Norwegian debate over hijab that followed France’s ban in 2003/2004.
06.12.2007
Invisible innovation
Numbers suggest that women are lagging behind in Norwegian innovation. A narrow and outdated definition of innovation explains why, says Elisabet Ljunggren at Nordland Research Institute.
06.12.2007
Women teach more after the Quality Reform
Female professors feel that they spend more time teaching after the introduction of the Quality Reform, the Norwegian follow-up to the Bologna Process. Women, to a larger degree than men, also say that the reform has changed their methods of teaching.
22.11.2007
Red figures for gender equality efforts
The University of Oslo is the first scholarly institution that has looked at its budgets from a gender equality perspective. The survey suggests that male researchers at the University get more money than their female colleagues.
30.10.2007
Offers big award for gender equality
The Ministry of Education and Research has established a new gender equality award worth two million Norwegian kroner. The award will go to the institution that has done the most to promote women in science.
Photo: Arild Hjelm.
30.10.2007
New award for gender equality in science
The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research has established a new gender equality award worth NOK 2 million. The award will go to the institution that has done the most to promote women in science.
30.10.2007
Want to close knowledge gaps
Despite extensive research on prostitution there are still huge knowledge gaps. A new Nordic research project will gather, systematise and discuss what we think we know about "Prostitution in the Nordic Countries".
2007.10.19
More women complete higher education degrees
In the ten years from 1995 to 2005 twice as many women completed a higher education degree than in the ten years from 1985 to 1995. The corresponding figure for men was 42 per cent.
(Picture source: Education statistics, Statistics Norway)
11.10.2007
Mathematician and physicist honoured
The Research Council of Norway's Møbius Prize for Outstanding Research 2007 has been awarded to Professor Idun Reiten. Reiten is a Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and a female pioneer in mathematics.
28.09.2007
Simply in love
"Prostitutes." "Traitors." “Contagious." “Backward." According to the myths of the post-war era, Norwegian girls who were involved with German soldiers during WWII were morally corrupt and inferior human beings. Historian Terje A. Pedersen believes that most of them simply fell in love.
24.09.2007
More women sanctioned
In 2006, 27 100 persons were sanctioned with 33 100 crimes. The number of sanctions for crimes was 0.6 per cent lower than the year before. More women and less men sanctioned with crimes entails a particularly large share of women.
19.09.2007
The mystery of natural sciences
Brita Brenna is a researcher at the Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture (TIK) at the University of Oslo. We already have many numbers and facts which describe women’s careers within scientific research. Now we want to execute some qualitative studies to see exactly what happens in the research communities, Brita Brenna explains
14.09.2007
A stranger among us
Asking a group of feminist activists if I, the stranger, can join their lunch table still inspires the sort of anxiety experienced by “the new kid" trying to find a seat in a crowded high school cafeteria, writes American sociologist Kimberly Creasap after her summer in Scandinavia.
13.09.2007
New times – new genders?
«A goodie bag» in the study of what body and gender means in our society and culture, says historian of religion Anne Kalvig about alternative therapy and neo-religious groups.
10.09.2007
Entrepreneurs are predominantly men
Most entrepreneurs are men, both in limited companies and in personally owned companies. The largest share of women entrepreneurs are found in the personally owned companies. More than half of the limited companies have only one entrepreneur.
31.08.2007
Young woman seeks better life
What do Eastern European women hope to attain when they come to Norway as prostitutes? In a new master’s thesis Irina Polyakova presents these women’s hope, reality and opportunities.
16.08.2007
Norway to provide NOK 20 million for the effort against female genital mutilation
International Development Minister Erik Solheim announced today that Norway will contribute NOK 20 million (appr. USD 3,5 million) to a fund to protect girls against genital mutilation in 16 countries. The fund has recently been established by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
08.08.2007
Examination of Norway's 7th Report by the CEDAW Committee
Gender Equality is not reached over night. Norway has a long history of social inclusion and equality strivings, the last 30 years standing out as to performance and results.
02.08.2007
Passionate pioneer
- We have too rarely asked ourselves what it has meant to be a man throughout history. This is something we must uncover! Norway's first and most renowned women's historian is ready for new challenges. And she won't stop until someone says "Gabrielsen".
27.07.2007
Children – a free choice?
While women in other European countries choose career over family, Norwegian women keep the birth rate up. To them, the question is not if, but when they will have children, says social anthropologist Malin Noem Ravn.
19.07.2007
Dad is awarded – mom is punished
Marriage and children have the opposite effect on the wages of men and women: married men earn more than unmarried men, while mothers lose in comparison to women without children. But it is not the employer's fault, according to professor Geir Høgsnes. He warns against focusing too much on discrimination in the equal pay debate.
03.07.2007
As many girls as boys go to school in Malawi
Girls now attend primary school to the same extent as boys in Malawi. However, girls tend to drop out before boys and fewer women than men know how to read and write.
27.06.2007
One size fits nobody
What is the use of a right to education if one is unable to go to school because of menstruation? - Human rights are the most important project of our time. But if they are to be realized, then the tools must be adapted to the specific context, says Anne Hellum.
11.06.2007
A real rape?
The questions that meet raped Liberian women refugees are not that different from Norwegian circumstances according to Sæba Bajoghli, who has written a Master's thesis on rape in one African refugee camp.
23.05.2007
New Women in Science committee appointed
The Ministry of Education and Research has appointed a new Committee for Mainstreaming - Women in Science. The new committee will be chaired by pro-rector Gerd Bjørhovde, and its period of office will extend until 1 April 2010.
02.05.2007
Gender gap in life expectancy narrows
Women still live longest, but the difference in life expectancy between men and women has fallen by one third in the last twenty years, to 4.5 years in 2006.
26.04.2006
Golden opportunities in Norway
In February the Committee for Mainstreaming - Women in Science handed in its final report to the Ministry of Education and Research. In this report the committee gives its recommendations for further gender equality work in the academic sector.
26.04.2006
- The solution is Daddy
The key to economic gender equality is the father, claims economist Hilde Bojer.
17.04.2006
More children in day care centers
During 2006, the number of children attending day care centers increased with 5.1 per cent in Norway. Meanwhile, the percentage of female employees was 90, which is the same level as in the previous year.
19.03.2007
New Action Plan for gender equality in development cooperation
On the International Women's Day, the Norwegian Goverment launched its new Action Plan for women's rights and gender equality in development cooperation.
08.03.2007
Norway calls on Iran to release women's rights activists
Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre has called on Iran to release all of the women's rights activists arrested last Sunday.
08.03.2007
New Nordic research policies
A new Nordic network for research policy is currently under way. The initiators hope that the network can contribute to promoting gender perspectives in research on national, Nordic, and European level.
05.03.2007
Book release: Professions and social identity
The book "Professions and Social Identities" presents new European research on work, gender and society. It is published by CLIOHRES.net, a Network of Excellence under EU's 6th Research Framework Programme.
01.03.2007
Norwegian government launches new website
The Norwegian government has launched its new homepage, www.government.no. Equality is one of its main subject areas.
14.02.2007
Economic rewards for hiring of women
The Committee for Mainstreaming - Women in Science has asked the Ministry of Education and Research to consider economic rewards to institutions that hire women as associate professors and professors. If the Ministry follows this advice, Norway will be the first country in the world with such a model.
08.02.2007
The Global Gender Gap Report 2006
The World Economic Forum has published the Global Gender Gap Report 2006. The Nordic countries Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland, top the latest Gender Gap Index. Germany, the Philippines, New Zealand, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland complete the top 10 countries with the smallest gender gap.
30.01.2007
New issue of NIKK magasin
NIKK magasin is a Nordic magazine which presents gender research in the Nordic countries. This annual English issue of the magazine, named "New Perceceptions of Gender and Reproduction", presents the theme of gender and biology.
25.01.2007
Gender equality in 30 years?
According to the current rate of change, it will take another 25-30 years before half of the permanent positions in the Norwegian academic sector are held by women. These figures emerge from a new report compiled by NIFU STEP.
18.01.2007
Completely natural, and potentially deadly
Getting pregnant can be dangerous, if you are poor and live in a country where women are little valued. Berit Austveg, specialist in community medicine, has written a book about what she calls the world’s greatest social injustice: maternal mortality.
17.01.2007
Campaigning for increased female representation
The Norwegian Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud has launched a campaign to increase the number of women who participate in local politics. They've got three months to make it happen.
10.01.2007
Depicting gender equality in the regions
Statistics Norway publishes an annual index of gender equality in Norwegian municipalities and counties. The 2006 index reveals that Tromsø is the municipality with most equality between women and men.
22.12.2006
Caring men in FOCUS
In a coordinated work/life study, researchers from five European countries have confirmed that each country wants to see more men taking parental leave to spend time caring for their children.
19.12.2006
Denmark launches website on gender
The Danish Centre for Research on Women and Gender (KVINFO) has launched All about Gender in Denmark. The website comprises news, facts and information on gender research, legislation, women's history and much more.
18.12.2006
What happens to the money?
Carry out a gender equality evaluation of the budget.
19.11.2006
Looking to the EU for the means
Before the summer break, an interpellation was submitted in which the Minister of Education and Research was asked what he will do to correct the gender imbalance in academia. This is his reply.
13.11.2006
Equal Pay Commission launches website
The Norwegian Equal Pay Commission was appointed in 2006. One of its tasks is to investigate the wage gap between women and men. The Commission has now launched it's website – likelonn.no – which encourages debate and provides information about the status of equal pay in Norwegian society.
09.11.2006
Book Gift on Gender Equality & Research to Alexandrina
A collection of books on Nordic Gender Equality and Research was given to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in October 2006. The gift was presented by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in connection with the Ibsen year.
30.10.2006
6th Anniversary of UN Resolution 1325
The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security calls for the full protection of women in war and conflicts and their participation in peace processes. On October 31 the Norwegian Government presented the work with the Norwegian Plan of Action, and the Gender in Norway website was launched.
26.10.2006
Masculine Sport: A Homo-free zone?
Why are male dominated sports environments often homophobic? Researchers Heidi Eng and Ulla-Britt Lilleaas have, in their respective research projects, attempted to find some answers.
24.10.2006
Norway’s Foreign Minister and Minister of International Development congratulate Nobel Peace Prize winners
The Grameen Bank is represented throughout Bangladesh, and 97 per cent of its total of six million borrowers are women. This says a lot about what the bank means to poor women. The Nobel Committee awarded Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006.
13.10.2006
Against Nature? - an exhibition on animal homosexuality
The first-ever museum exhibition dedicated to gay animals has opened at the Natural History Museum in Oslo. Homosexuality is a common and widespread phenomenon in the animal world. Most museums have no traditions for airing difficult, concealed, and possibly controversial questions. Homosexuality is certainly such a question.
01.10.2006
A look at Norwegian institutes
There is a great deal of focus on the proportion of women among permanent staff at universities and university colleges in Norway. But it is in business and independent institutions that the proportion of women is the lowest.
24.09.2006
Girls from minority backgrounds taking part in sports
Girls from ethnic minorities in Norway have a below average participation rate in organized sports. Researcher Åse Strandbu has studied those who do take part.
31.07.2006
Outstanding young men
The Research Council of Norway should make an equal opportunities assessment program of the new Outstanding Young Investigators grant, says professor Inge Henningsen.
26.06.2006
When gender equality becomes practice
When Swedish gender equality expert Eva Mark delivered her lecture in Oslo in May, it was practical gender equality work that was on the agenda.
11.06.2006
84.5 per cent of a man’s wage
Equal pay for equal work has been a demand for several decades. The differences, however, are still great. Why?
10.05.2006
Rekdal on Moi and Rekdal
Elin Havelin Rekdal was looking for a topic to write her masters thesis on. She noticed a book exhibited in a library: “What is a woman?” by Toril Moi. – Does anyone really have the answer to that question, Rekdal wondered. She is now doing her doctorate on Toril Moi and her books.
27.04.2006
Planning for a generation shift
New thinking on gender equality is taking place at Norwegian universities. In recent years, the burden of responsibility has been moved, equal opportunities budgets have been increased by millions of Norwegian kroner and new initiatives have been put in place. We have checked the progress at two of the country’s universities.
13.03.2006
EU's Gender Equality Institute up and running by 2007
While the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee in the European Parliament struggle to sharpen the focus of the Institute's work, Norwegian gender experts hope to be part of shaping the future of the Institute.
09.03.2006
The politics of housework
Female production and modern housework is a central part of modernisation and the welfare state. Gro Hagemann is researching how historical and political changes have formed the role of the housewife through the 20th century.
06.03.2006
Into the woodwork of science
Who decides what science is excellent? Who decides which research projects will be funded, or which researchers will be recruited? These are issues we have to look at closely if we want to promote gender equality in science.
01.03.2006
Silence protects
The authorities want to get the victims of trafficking to talk. However, silence is a protection for many of the women in their attempt to start a new life. Give them information and legal aid so they can make their own, qualified decisions, is the advice from a group of Norwegian and Serbian researchers who have interviewed victims of trafficking in Serbia.
08.02.2006
When anorexia is the solution
When everything feels unstable, having control over your own body and your food intake becomes a way of taking charge. If you don’t eat, then that’s at least one thing you’re in control of. Besides, you become slim; and slim means happy. Karen Klovning and Siri Hoftun have interviewed eight girls who have suffered from anorexia.
20.01.2006
Prize for thesis on self-injury
To the support services, self-injuring women often seem inscrutable and helpless. The women’s own insights into and comprehension about self-harm are not asked for. Anita Moe has interviewed a group of women about their experiences of self-injury. For this work, she won the Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Women’s Studies and Gender Research at the University of Oslo, in 2005.
13.01.2006
Tragedy & Honour
Kristin Skjørten has investigated how two Norwegian newspapers cover murder and other violence against women, in cases where the perpetrator has a close relationship to the woman. Some cases are widely reported and trigger debates on topics such as honour. Other cases receive limited coverage under the headline "family tragedy."
09.01.2006
Motherhood challenged
In Norway, sperm donation is legal, but egg donation is not. What is it about motherhood that makes the donation of eggs a viable solution that is not used? Social anthropologist Kristin Hestflått’s doctoral project explores the politics of parenthood in the age of genetics.
02.01.2006
USA–Norway, return trip
Anne Sæbø left Norway for the United States ten years ago. Now she is back as a guest researcher. Here she reflects on the similarities and differences between the two cultures, and how American ways gradually affect Norwegian traditions – Christmas decorations, for example.
22.12.2005
New goals in Tromsø
Last year the University of Tromsø was singled out as having the worst gender balance in the country. Director of personnel Håvard Bekkelund hardly remembers this. Because things are changing fast.
09.12.2005
The black Snow White adventure
Oil and gas have become the mantra for the future in Norway. It is not only connected to the Snøhvit (literally, Snow White) project at Hammerfest, in the far north of Norway, but to the whole county of Finnmark. Anthropologist Britt Kramvig fears that, as a consequence, other untapped resources of the region - like its many educated women - are being forgotten.
08.12.2005
Trebling the equal opportunities pot
The rector at the University of Bergen will spend a further 2 million Norwegian crowns on equal opportunities work. This is how Bergen will become a leading university on gender equality.
23.11.2005
Quotas and justice
Political committees in Norwegian local authorities should have a representation of at least 40 per cent of each sex. In practice, however, it does not work like this. Ingrid Guldvik has written her doctoral thesis on quotas and gender justice.
13.10.2005
Where computing is cool for girls
In Norway few girls choose an education in computing. In Malaysia, on the other hand, an education in computing is popular with girls. There, computing is considered a suitable career for women. Sociologist Vivian Anette Lagesen has investigated the differences between the two countries in her recently completed doctoral thesis in Interdisciplinary Culture Studies.
05.09.2005
Challenges for Nordic research on violence
The Nordic countries are in a unique position in the fight against mens’ violence against women. However, challenges remain that the Nordic countries have not addressed, says Liz Kelly.
24.07.2005
Upstairs, Downstairs
- The first women’s movement in Norway was interested primarily in the rights of middle class women - with the right to an upper secondary education and to study at university. However, many of these middle class women were assisted by their servants, says professor emeritus Sølvi Sogner. She is now writing a servants’ history.
10.06.2005
Timing and tactics
A gender researcher in the Senate, an innovative gender equality adviser, new tactics and good timing. These factors were instrumental when the University of Oslo passed a new gender equality action plan.
11.05.2005
The force of example
Sure, the situation for women in science has improved. But a lot remains to be done, says Kari Melby, chair of the Committee for Mainstreaming - Women in Science.
11.05.2005
On the Daddytrack
The Daddytrack is an expression masculinities researcher Øystein Gullvåg Holter has borrowed from the Americans. In the USA, yes to daddytrack means no to career. Holter wants the Nordic countries and Europe to develop an alternative daddytrack that does not force men into choosing between work and family.
11.05.2005
Women crossing the borders
What are the lives of Russian women settled in northern Norway like? Stereotypes about Russian women as prostitutes or old-fashioned housewives abound in local communities in the north of Norway, explains researcher Jana Sverdljuk.
28.04.2005
Norway – Turkey: A Score Draw
In Turkey women working in news and in newspaper editing are few and far between. However, how much better is the situation in Norway? Huriye Toker has compared the gender balance in the two Turkish newspapers Hürriyet and Akºam with Norwegian VG and Dagsavisen. She discovered a surprising number of similarities.
04.05.2005
The Viking god Odin – A queer god of War
Does Norse mythology and queer theory share any common ground? Brit Solli, archaeologist at the University of Tromsø, argues that Odin, one of the most important Viking gods, was queer – and that it is about time to reclaim the diversity that the Viking era represented both in culture and in opinion of gender. Solli writes about this and a lot more, in the interdisciplinary book Seid, Myths, Shamanism and Gender in the Viking Era.
02.01.2004
Immigration History with Gender Perspective?
A so far untold part of Norwegian history is now presented in three companion volumes. Norwegian Immigration History was released by Pax Publishing Company earlier this fall. Seven professors aim to describe history with immigrants’ perspective from year 900 and to present time. How was the life of a slave? Where did the priests, the carpenters and the tradesmen come from? Who were the noblemen and kings – and where did they find their brides? Family negotiations, alliance building and forced marriages were the rule rather than the exception in earlier times.
05.11.2003
Jazz as masculine space
The number of women who study music and who make their mark on the Norwegian musical scene have increased the recent years. But the recruitment of women is lopsided. Women choose classical music, not jazz. In this article Trine Annfelt discusses jazz as a hegemonic masculine discourse and argues that this can contribute to explaining the distribution by gender and sexuality.
17.07.2003
Scandinavian researchers on gender power
How gender power in society, research and politics is understood, interpreted and problematised depends upon your position and point of view. In consequence, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian women have different ways of looking at gender power. Additionally, each generation of women will have their own way of analysing power.
19.06.2003
A male power elite
Norway enjoy an international status as a progressive country in gender equality. But there is still much to do. The research project "Power and Democracy" has mapped out Norway’s power elite and the numbers speak for themselves; we have a male power elite.
28.11.2002