Research minister under fire over lack of equality

A political argument about gender balance in universities has broken out in Norway, with the opposition calling for more direct action to increase the number of women professors.

Nina Sandberg, a member of parliament for the opposition Labour party, has slammed Norway’s research minister Iselin Nybø for being “disappointingly passive” about women in science. She said a recent report by the Nordic institute for innovation studies, Nifu, found that working conditions and a hostile atmosphere are still keeping women out of academia.

Sandberg sent a list of demands to the government on 8 March, asking for a detailed strategy on how gender balance in academia could be improved. Nybø, who was appointed in January, responded on 12 March, listing some of the ongoing efforts of the government. But on 22 March Sandberg said the response was insufficient, as Nybø had no fresh proposals to address the issue.