Thoughts on university leadership
Universities have the potential to answer many of the most basic challenges faced by modern societies. We answer them through research – making new discoveries. We answer them through education – conveying previous discoveries. Research and education together move societies forward. Yet even though universities hold the key, those of us who work there don’t… Read More…
The single most important success factor for increasing gender equality and gender balance in the workplace is engagement from top leadership. Usually, we think of this in terms of the top leadership of an organization, but in Norway we are fortunate to see engagement all the way to the top of the government. The Prime… Read More…
Dream jobs, 6 reasons science needs you and Profiles of women in science are just three of the areas on a website launched last year by the European Commission to encourage teenage girls to consider science as a career — a website called Science: It’s a girl thing! The EC’s campaign gave me the opportunity to try out an idea… Read More…
The career earnings of a man exceed those of a woman by an amount equal to the average cost of two houses. This is the gender pay gap. And we know now that negotiation alone isn’t the explanation. At the current rate, it will take women another 38 years before their paychecks match those of their… Read More…
“Around the world, men occupy the highest ranks of society. They rise to become CEOs more often than women, they are more likely to reach the highest positions in government, and they are paid more than women in the labor market.” That’s how economists Andreas Leibbrandt and John A. List start an article in which they confront… Read More…
I know guys like you. In fact, I’ve been one, at least when it comes to women and work. You think you’re fair, right? You think the only thing that matters when you hire someone is quality. And you think you know quality when you see it, don’t you? Tell me your opinion about quotas… Read More…
Could your research be better if you thought more about gender? I’m not asking if you could say more about gender if you thought about gender; that much is obvious. No, I’m asking if the quality of your research results more broadly could be improved if issues of gender informed the methods you use and… Read More…
“Data not only measures progress; it inspires it.” And, indeed, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s nerdy view of innovation did excite those sitting around me recently at Evidence and impact: closing the gender data gap. Clinton’s speech was both an analysis of the need for better data about women and their lives as well as a challenge to… Read More…
The European Commission’s campaign encouraging girls to choose science careers, Science: It’s a girl thing, was media fodder once again recently, this time on the BBC Ulster’s radio program Evening Extra, on which I was one of the guests. The segment (hear it here) begins with a discussion of the by now thoroughly thrashed original teaser video for… Read More…
Advertising professors everywhere must be thanking the European Commission for their new campaign, Science: it’s a girl thing! This campaign – designed to convince high school girls to pursue careers in science – had such a badly bungled launch that it’s sure to become the topic of lectures and exam questions for communications students throughout Europe and beyond.
The problem lies in the “teaser” video, which went viral last week for all the wrong reasons. Read how you can help fix it!
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