“Research needs criticism”

All disciplines need criticism, both from within their own ranks and in the media. But if the criticism is unreasonable and personal, it can threaten freedom of speech in academia, believes one Swedish gender researcher.

From gender equality to inclusion

How will gender equality efforts in the research sector evolve as we take more and more groups into consideration?

Critical colleagues may prevent researchers from stepping into the public eye

Researchers are particularly worried about criticism from colleagues and superiors working in the same field, according to sociologist Marte Mangset. In a new book, she has studied factors that may prevent researchers from expressing themselves in the media.
Opinion

Fascism and Masculine Ideals – Thoughts on the Russian War in Ukraine

It may be fitting to observe the war in Ukraine through the lens of gender equality, according to Erik Melander.

“We are not certain why endometriosis occurs”

According to specialists, more knowledge about causes, more funding, and more education may provide better treatment of the condition currently affecting one in ten women.

“A woman’s international career seldom takes priority”

Even though more women researchers are coming from abroad than before, it is often more difficult for a woman to move her family to Norway, asserts researcher Ingvild Reymert.

New publications

PHD THESIS: Women and Dissent: Opportunities, Barriers and Empowerment

Author(s):
Ingrid Vik Bakken
Published:
2022

BOOK: Gender Inequalities in Tech-driven Research and Innovation. Living the Contradiction

Author(s):
Gabriele Griffin (ed.)
Published:
2022

ARTICLE: Why Norway has more female local councillors than Denmark: a crack in the Nordic gender equality model?

Author(s):
Segaard, Signe Bock, Ulrik Kjaer & Jo Saglie
Published:
2022

PHD THESIS: Transforming gender relations? Men’s involvement in care for their partners and households at the time of pregnancy in rural and urban Ghana – A qualitative study

Author(s):
Gloria Abena Ampim
Published:
2022

PHD THESIS: Maternity care for recently migrated women in Oslo, Norway

Author(s):
Sukhjeet Bains
Published:
2022
More publications »

Could have foreseen many intimate partner homicides

The risk factors are primarily previous acts of domestic violence, according to Solveig Vatnar. She has been the lead researcher of two national studies on intimate partner homicides.

Won MA thesis award for new reading of Japanese novel

Thea Johanne Prytz Hammarqvist has written about a hundred-year-old Japanese novel that challenged the idea of heterosexual marriage as the only correct choice for women.

Is the term ‘intersectionality’ being misused?

A new doctoral dissertation by Amund Rake Hoffart takes a critical look at how theoreticians discuss intersectionality in academia.

Most read news articles in 2021

Articles about Simone de Beauvoir, Game of Thrones and Harry Potter were among the most read articles on Kilden genderresearch.no last year.

Women more severely affected by tinnitus than men are

More men than women are affected by ear buzz, but the consequences are greater for women. Women also have a higher risk of severe hereditary tinnitus, according to a research project.

Female soldiers experienced more gender equality during wartime than in peace

“My studies from Colombia and Nepal show that many minors enlisted voluntarily and that their quality of life even improved as guerrilla soldiers,” says Wenche Iren Hauge.

Committees hiring top researchers lose sight of gender balance and diversity

How do we ensure that the best candidate for a professorship is hired, while still securing gender balance and diversity? A new study shows how committees that hire professors struggle to meet different expectations.
opinion

Gender equality is essential for the green shift

Gender equality is decisive for reaching the climate goals. This perspective is missing today, writes Linda Marie Rustad.

Paternal leave does not alter stubborn gender roles

The father’s quota of the parental leave and recruitment of male employees in kindergartens do not challenge gender roles at home or in work life, according to a new PhD dissertation.
OPINION

How the pandemic exposed the faultlines of gender inequality in Norway’s labour market

The pandemic highlights some significant and remaining gendered structures in the Norwegian labour market – and the not-quite-sufficient efforts to eliminate them, writes Mari Teigen in this article.

Wants to make it easier to share experiences of abortion

The Women's Museum Norway recently launched the abortion exhibition HYSJ! (‘HUSH!’). Their goal is to create a space for talking about a topic that is still shameful for many women today.

Harry Potter fans explore gender and sexuality online

The Harry Potter books are pervaded with queer and transsexual symbols, says Jennifer Duggan. She has written a PhD thesis about the internet culture surrounding to the book series.

Game of Thrones tampers with traditional gender roles

The Science fiction genre is able to move the boundaries for how we see the world, according to Ingvil Hellstrand.

Hopes for increased attention to side effects among women

Sabine Oertelt-Prigione hopes that the pandemic and vaccination will make people more aware of sex differences in medicine.
OPINION

Gender Budgeting: A tool to increase the sustainability of gender equality plans?

How can gender equality be achieved in an academia in which business logic and competition are central elements of its measures?, asks Gilda Seddighi and Hilde G. Corneliussen.

The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a toll on academia

More than a year has passed since a virus pandemic shut down most of society, including the university and university college sector. Researchers with young children as well as teaching duties and research to conduct have been squeezed the hardest, according to recent research.

The versatile Hamsun

New research demonstrates expressions of women’s liberation and homoerotic desire in Knut Hamsun’s works from the 1890’s.

Efforts to promote peace can make women more vulnerable

In recent years, gender has become an important factor in the international work against extremism. But some researchers fear that when women become part of the first line defence against radicalisation, they also become more vulnerable.

“Simone de Beauvoir’s analysis of old age is still relevant”

The French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir’s analysis of the oppression of women may be applied to explain oppression of elderly people today, says Tove Pettersen.

Fewer gender equality measures in academia in Finland than in Norway and Sweden

A new study shows that Finnish universities have fewer measures for implementation of gender balance in academia, but their proportion of female professors is as high as in Sweden and Norway.

Award to MA thesis on embodied experiences of motherhood

We often focus on the body when thinking about pregnancy, birth, and the first months with a new baby. But what about when mothers return to work? Sunniva Rivedal’s master's thesis shows how the body plays a central role in maternal experiences of caring for young children.

The nuclear family has become a political tug-of-war in Russia and Poland

Domestic violence has now become a matter of dispute between liberal and conservative forces, which demonstrates that even authoritarian ruling powers have to take the popular opinion into consideration.

Ancient objects shed new light on women’s role in the Viking raids

Kitchen equipment from the British Isles has been found in graves belonging to Viking women from aristocratic families. “We can gain new knowledge about women’s participation in the Viking raids by posing new questions to old findings,” according to researcher.

Most read articles from Kilden genderresearch.no in 2020

An article about masculinity in Norwegian black metal was the most read in Kilden's newsmagazine in 2020.

Can artificial intelligence affect gender equality?

A new knowledge overview provides a review of all Norwegian research on equality and artificial intelligence. From this overview, it is evident that we are not prepared for the consequences that the new technology might have for gender equality.

Seeking more European research that integrates a gender dimension

A new EU report shows how gender and sex analysis can make research better and more creative – including in disciplines that have not yet incorporated them.

Sex testing of female athletes: fair or unethical?

Female athletes with a high testosterone level are required to take hormone-reducing medication in order to participate in the women’s category. This is problematic, according to researcher Mari Haugaa Engh.

Munch and the myth of the genius

Art historian and curator Lars Toft-Eriksen explores the idea of Munch as an artistic genius and how this idea was connected to gender and expressions of gender in his time.

Covid pandemic may have caused more violence toward women

A new survey uncovers insufficient communication from the Norwegian authorities concerning support for women who are victims of domestic violence during the corona crisis.

“Pandemics affect women and men differently”

Our knowledge about previous pandemics gives us invaluable information on how to handle today’s corona pandemic, according to researchers.
Opinion

Who cares for the men who are left behind?

We need more research and less scorn, and a better understanding of the incel phenomenon in order to prevent radicalisation, writes Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair
EDITORIAL

Gender equality in research is a joint European responsibility

I am hoping for more outreach and more knowledge-based debates about gender equality in research in Europe, writes Linda Marie Rustad.

Changing masculinity in Norwegian black metal

In Norwegian black metal, monstrous images of hyper-masculinity is emphasised. This has given many fans power over their own identity.
Opinion

When knowledge is banned

Attacks on gender researchers’ academic freedom can have fatal consequences, according to Sunniva Folgen Høiskar and Linda Marie Rustad.

Harassing humour begins among the officers

Humour has an important function for solidarity and team spirit among conscripts in the military. According to researchers, however, it may also contribute to many women leaving the military after the compulsory military service.

Women’s travel behaviour make cities greener

Planning cities for and with women can make the city both safer and more environment friendly, according to researchers.

Updated innovation concept means greater diversity

Innovation has typically been thought of as involving patents, licences and start-ups. Today, innovation researchers have a far broader understanding of the concept, believes research leader Espen Solberg.

No discrimination against women whose CVs are as good as men’s

According to a recent study, women and men have equal chances to move up professionally in academia as a whole. There are, however, a number of systematic differences.

Research on energy is not gender neutral

"The meaning of gender perspectives in research is often reduced to just counting the number of men and women. This is a very shallow interpretation of the term. In order to create a better climate, we need to understand the people behind the energy habits," according to researcher.

Arabic women’s football: supported by the regime, but still breaking social norms

Norms and legislation strictly limit women's lives in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Nevertheless, women find ways to realise themselves – like by playing football.

“Of course Muslim feminists exist”

With her book about feminism in Islam, Marianne Hafnor Bøe not only aims to create awareness of Muslim feminists, she also wants to expand the term ‘feminism’.

“Europe wants more gender research”

Gender equality generates better results within research and innovation. In addition, EU bureaucrats argue that European research funding should be earmarked with specific requirements for gender perspectives.

Gender issues are ridiculed and sabotaged in the military

The masculine culture in the Norwegian Armed Forces is a democratic problem. This makes it difficult to work with issues related to gender, according to researcher.

Religious minority youth between patriarchy and gender equality

Gender roles is a delicate topic for religious minority groups. Many of them accept traditional gender segregation in the religious community, but struggle with prejudices from the greater society, according to researcher.

Our image of ISIS women is incomplete

The ideological conviction was often deeper among the women who joined the ISIS than among the men who did the same, according to researchers.
Op-ed

Research gaps in sexual violence against girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa

Sexual violence is a human rights issue and a women's health issue. Without adequate research-based knowledge, neither health services nor the justice system can offer victims the help they need.

“Women’s historical contributions are still ignored”

“Women’s history brings forth knowledge concerning one half of humanity, and makes sure that the discipline does not become gender blind,” says professor of history at University of Oslo, Hilde Sandvik.

Feminist scientists criticise gender bias in the tech industry

Whatever you find when you google depends on the people who have developed the algorithms. American researcher fears enhanced sexism and racism unless the IT sector begins to promote diversity.

Cars are still designed for men

With its research on safety for all, Volvo has a clear gender perspective on industrial innovation. So far they are quite alone in this respect.

“The urban space is sexualised and misogynistic”

“Our unconsciousness is shaped by sexist messages from advertisements. The public urban space in one of the world’s most gender equal countries is not designed for women,” according to social geographer Emma Arnold.
New book

The EU raises the standard of Norwegian gender equality policies

That the EU affects Norwegian gender equality policies has mostly proven to be a good thing. But an individual-oriented policy puts pressure on the social democratic approach, say researchers.

Controversial documentary used to de-legitimize Norwegian gender research

Rumours that the TV show 'Brainwash' put an end to Norwegian gender research is alive and kicking in anti-feminist circles internationally.

Therapy can help men stop domestic violence

It is not given that violent men who get therapy will stop their behaviour. A decisive factor for success is that the therapist and the client have a common understanding of the problem, according to researcher Bente Lømo.

Men are more often than women fooled by placebo

It was not until the 1990s that researchers fully began to include both genders in health research. Sara Magelssen Vambheim has contributed with valuable new insights in her study of gender differences in pain experiences.

One of four LGBT people experience hate speech

A new report shows that twice as many LGBT people are victims of discrimination and exclusion as the rest of the population. The risk increases even more among those with minority characteristics.

Voices of protest in academia:

The university as a democratic institution is at stake

Values like equality, inclusion and diversity are being stifled by the prevailing management ideology in academia, critics note. “We must create an academic culture of compassion,” says British organizational psychologist Kathryn Waddington.

Calls for a revival of the artist Hannah Ryggen

“What was written about Hannah Ryggen in the eighties and nineties does not reflect the quality of her art and her significance during her own time,” according to art historian Marit Paasche.
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Calendar

11 Jul 2022

Towards Individualized Care: Sex & Gender Perspectives in Health

Radboud University, Nijmegen

Radboud Summer School invite applications to this one-week course about sex and gender perspectives in health. It will be a hands-on journey based on design thinking formats and practical challenges. The deadline for early bird is April 1st.  

More information »
29 Aug 2022

Why (Queer) History Matters: The Politics of History

Bergen

Neglect and erasure of queer history has been the norm in all national histories until quite recently. The Faculty of Humanities at the University of Bergen invites to an international, interdisciplinary conference on queer history.

More information »
26 Oct 2022

The National Gender Studies Conference – G22

Karlstad

The next national gender studies conference in Sweden – G22 – will be held at the Centre for Gender Studies, Karlstad University, with the title “Shaping hopeful futures in times of uncertainties: the challenges and possibilities of gender studies”.

More information »
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NEW POLICY BRIEF

The journal

The first issue in 2022 is an open issue. Still, all of the articles have a common theme: motherhood. You can read about infanticide, soundness of mind and unwed mothers in the Norwegian Criminal Code of 1902, about bodily experiences of mothers of young children trying to balance domestic and professional work, and about motherhood and mental illness.
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