The Persistence of Gender Struggles in Nordic Research and Innovation

Abstract

The persistence of gender inequalities throughout the western world into the 21 st century is well documented in numerous studies and statistics (OECD; SHE Figures) despite the fact that all western countries have national, regional, and local equality legislation, plans, and guidelines that legally enshrine and promote gender equality. This is the case in research and innovation (R&I) as much as in other work contexts. As extensive research from the

Gender Inequalities in Tech-driven Research and Innovation

“…From the perspective of women in R&I work, it is the R&I institutions that play the significant role (also Griffin and Vehviläinen, 2021). Neoliberal R&I institutions, their units and research groups welcome competitive funding in growth periods and recruit personnel to conduct R&I.…”

“…Tilly's inequality mechanisms continue to have salience in contemporary academe (Griffin and Vehvilainen, 2021). Their explanatory force becomes evident when one considers the experiences detailed by my interviewees, DH practitioners working in HEIs in Finland, Norway and Sweden.…”

“…These include horizontal and vertical segregation in both education and in the workplace, the persistence of the gender pay gap and the unequal distribution of household and care tasks. These persistent inequalities (Griffin and Vehvilainen, 2021) are evident in relevant international statistics in most areas of R&I. Thus according to the SHE Figures (2018) the proportion (percentage) of women among doctoral graduates by broad field of study in 2016 was as shown in Table 1.3: Table 1.3 shows that there are quite significant differences between the different Nordic countries in the proportion of women among doctoral graduates by broad field of study, involving a 10 per cent difference between Finland and Norway for education, for example, and 9 per cent difference between Sweden and Norway regarding ICT.…”

“…One could further argue that the GENDER INEQUALITIES IN TECH-DRIVEN RESEARCH AND INNOVATION homogenization of the Nordic countries under that very umbrella term serves to obscure significant differences (see Larsen et al, 2021) that the individual countries involved might need to address. Conversely, one could also suggest that highlighting the differences between the Nordic countries and the range of gender inequalities that continue to prevail (Griffin and Vehvilainen, 2021) is an incitement for action and change. Any emphasis on differences or similarities between the Nordic countries is thus a strategic and political decision, based on the purpose the comparison is meant to serve.…”

“…There has been a systematic disadvantage in women's and other minorities' access to competitive R&I funding (SHE Figures, 2018: 174;Burns et al, 2019;Rodrigo and Clavero, 2020). Although some funding agencies, in Ireland (Doona, 2020) and Nordic countries in particular, have conducted gender equality planning (Husu and de Cheveigne, 2010), gender inequalities have nonetheless remained persistent also in Nordic R&I (Griffin and Vehviläinen, 2021). In spite of the importance of the topic, the implications of R&I funding practices for gender and gender (in)equalities are under-researched, as Husu and de Cheveigné (2010) and Steinþórsdóttir et al (2020) have also observed.…”