It has been claimed in the Swedish research political debate about gender research, that gender researchers aren’t very much internationalized. In a report about Swedish gender researchers’ international publications from the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research, the opposite is stated. Swedish gender researchers publish internationally somewhat more often than other Swedish researchers. Studies about Norwegian gender researchers have also showed that they to a larger degree publish in another language than other researchers within the humanities and social sciences, and they have a higher degree of internationalization. Also the academies of Finland showed in a study that there was a high degree of internationalization within gender research in Finland.

Whether one wants to call Nordic gender researchers internationalized and excellent or not, the gender researchers and -research would profit from changing their publication patterns and work methods slightly to become more visible internationally.

I think gender researchers should try more often to publish in international journals, preferably together with colleagues. They should choose journals for their text from different databases. When choosing a journal, it’s a good idea to choose one with "high impact"-ranking, for instance, a journal often quoted by other researchers.

Nordic gender researchers should further more encourage colleagues to comment on their articles, preferably in journals from different databases, and at the same time make an effort to quote their colleagues within the gender research field.

Gender researcher should before sending their texts to the journals have them controlled for language and grammar, to increase their chances of being accepted for publishing. They should also apply for the journals they publish in to be admitted to databases. There are many journals that aren’t in for instance one of the world’s greatest databases of articles; Web of Science, but that should be able to be admitted. For example NORA: Nordic Journal of Women’s Studies fulfils all demands for a scientific journal to be accepted in a database.

One good strategy to increase the international visibility of gender research then, is to change your own publication patterns. Nordic gender research must however work on several fronts in their struggle for increased acceptance for the research field, international visibility and excellence. The Nordic gender researchers as a collective whole should try to influence those who scrutinize publications before publishing in international journals, so-called gate-keepers, to learn more about gender research to make the research field more just. Gender researchers should also, if given a chance, take the assignment themselves of being gate-keepers in scientific journals, working with refereeing publications before publishing. They can also influence on other gender researchers being offered positions as referees in important journals.

To increase the Nordic gender research’s international visibility, I therefore encourage gender researchers to work on two fronts. Through thinking about their own careers and also co-operating with other researchers, the Nordic gender researchers will raise their own scientific status as well as the Nordic gender research’s internationalization and excellence.