The University of Tromsø adopts genSET Recommendations in new gender action plan
The University of Tromsø (UiT) adopts genSET Recommendations in new gender action plan. UiT is thereby the first university to adopt the recommendations presented to the European Commission in June, 2010.
The University has a particular focus on increasing the number and percentage of women at the rank of professor. The Board of Directors of the University of Tromsø therefore has decided on a new gender action plan which aims at raising the percentage of women in the highest academic category from the present 23% to 30% by 2014. The plan, resolved in a Board meeting on October 14, 2010, adopts the genSET Recommendations for Action on the Gender Dimension in Science as the guiding principles for UiT's gender equality work.
UiT is the first European Institution to adopt in full the Consensus Report produced by European science leaders in June 2010.
– There are two paths to becoming a professor in Norway, and our plan addresses both of them, says Professor Curt Rice, Vice President for Research and Development, at UiT. Professor Rice also served on the genSET "Science Leaders Panel".
The first path is for an Associate Professor to apply for a personal promotion.
– We see gender differences in this area, whereby men apply as soon as they think they have a chance of promotion, while women tend to wait until they are very confident. Hence, women tend to spend more years as an Associate Professor. To encourage women to apply, we will implement a trial evaluation process which simulates the promotion process, thereby leaving women candidates more confident before applying for promotion, says Professor Rice.
The second path is through direct announcement of positions.
– Although we are not allowed to earmark positions for women, our Board has now asserted that all advertised positions will have search committees specificially charged with finding women applicants, says Professor Rice.
The Board's decision also states that a successful search will result in a gender balanced applicant pool. It will no longer be acceptable when the applicant pool for any particular position has fewer than 40% women.
Says Professor Rice: – We believe this will encourage departments to adopt broader job descriptions and to more actively search for qualified women.
The University of Tromsø is an institution with approximately 9,000 students and 2,700 employees. UiT has six faculties, each of which will extend the gender action plan for its own context, including work on the inclusion of gender and sex perspectives in teaching and research.
For more information, please contact:
Professor Curt Rice, Vice President for Research and Development, the University of Tromsø
Phone: +47 77 64 42 61 / +47 46 41 46 35 (cell)
Email: curt.rice@uit.no
