Suggestions for improving gender equality when filling positions of trust
Signe Jernberg has written a report for the Equal Opportunities Committee at the Faculty of Social Sciences that presents a range of suggestions to improve gender equality when filling positions of trust. Pictured on the left is the author of the report, Signe Jernberg and, on the right, Linda Wedlin, chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.
The Equal Opportunities Committee at the Faculty of Social Sciences has carried out a project looking into how different positions of trust are filled within the faculty. The report includes suggestions for measures and reflections for departments, the University as a whole, and for individual senior researchers.
In the report entitled Transparent makt: om hur utnämningar och uppdrag tillsätts vid Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten [Transparent power: how appointments and positions of trust are filled at the Faculty of Social Sciences], author Signe Jernberg, visiting researcher at the Department of Business Studies and senior lecturer at the University of Gävle, examines how filling different positions of trust occurs. The report describes a situation where positions of trust are often filled in an informal process where the heads of department are in a hurry to fill the positions and often ask the individual they know will accept. These positions are often filled without all staff being aware of the need and without any discussion with regard to the position and its format.
Positions of trust: part of collegiality
The author of the report argues that positions of trust should not only be seen as a qualification nor as a negative move for the individual’s career but as an important part of collegiality. In the report, she writes: “To unilaterally present positions of trust as a notch on one’s belt of strategic qualifications, or as something negative for an individual career, risks encouraging a development in which the research/teaching individual is placed above the collective that is the department. Essentially, positions of trust are carried out to benefit others, the collective, and it is the way in which we organise academic activity.”
Reinforce collegiality and the acquisition of qualifications
How, then, is it possible to improve gender equality when filling positions of trust? Linda Wedlin, chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee at the Faculty of Social Sciences:
“You need to work on two different fronts to develop equal opportunities work when it comes to filling positions of trust. On the one hand, we need to increase awareness of the positions and their function as part of collegiality and, on the other hand, we need to make the positions more attractive by strengthening the qualifications acquired in positions of trust.”
However, Linda Wedlin emphasises that it is not desirable to have criteria that are too specific for qualifications for positions of trust.
“As soon as you begin to measure, it risks becoming a box-ticking exercise. But it might not mean that the person is actually engaged in the issue. Instead, we must find ways to turn around collegial participation and how we value these kinds of positions when we recruit,” says Linda Wedlin.
These are questions that naturally come up in discussions in the Faculty’s recruitment groups and the hope is that the Equal Opportunities Committee and the report will be able to contribute to these discussions.
Competition for positions of trust poor
The report indicates that there is no competition at the departments for positions of trust.
“The more we have swept collegiality aside and have acquired other forms of governance, the harder it has become for researchers to view these positions as a collegial responsibility and to participate and share in that responsibility,” says Linda Wedlin.
The author writes in the report: “It is difficult to imagine engagement in the department’s common concerns without collegial engagement. So to have the conditions for having a broad base to choose from for these positions, the collegial structures must be strong while there also needs to be an awareness of equal opportunities issues and dialogue between the individual and the head of department.”
Getting it right from the outset
The author of the report concludes that the current meritocracy system in universities where talent and performance are vital for career development is dependent on getting it right from the outset. “If any group is discriminated against or favoured early in their careers, this will be reproduced in their careers moving forward, even in a functional meritocracy. The fact that there are injustices among senior academics is something that, to a certain extent, needs to be accepted. The alternative is quota systems that are not consistent with the principles of merit and skill. What is possible though is to strive for a just and fair meritocracy from the outset.”
Anders Berndt
Suggestions from the report
The author of the report Signe Jernberg, visiting researcher at the Department of Business Studies and senior lecturer at the University of Gävle, suggests a number of measures in the report. Below is a selection of the suggestions and reflections from the report. One of the author’s points of departure for the suggestions is the following: “An organisation can never be exclusively a formal structure. For there to be order, organisational processes are also needed. Therefore, in suggesting improvement measures there should be a focus on balancing formal structure with scope for processes to continue, and for both structure and processes to recognise the risk of actions and decisions happening on non-objective grounds.”
Suggestions for departments
- Hold a discussion at the departments on the content of positions of trust. To ensure more individuals will be suitable, new forms of collaboration and descriptions of the positions may be relevant.
- Resist the tendency to ask those who you know will accept the position.
- Keep individuals in mind who do not speak Swedish for positions that can be performed in English and reflect on when Swedish is actually required.
- Make it clear to everyone at the department what positions of trust there are.
Reflection on the University’s responsibility
“To a greater extent, recruitments and promotions should be steered towards evaluating applicants as complete academics where teaching and research qualifications are given the most weight but where collegial engagement contributes to making the person a complete academic. Here, evaluating qualifications with a focus on research and teaching qualifications is maintained for appointments and promotions but they are evaluated in quantity and quality in relation to academic age and taking into consideration collegial work.”
Reflection on how the work between professors and doctoral students can influence future meritocracy functions
“Working to ensure that doctoral students get equal opportunities to get teaching assignments, to participate in working groups, to be given positions of trust within the research faculty is key to building the foundations for a well-functioning meritocracy. Selection based on homosocial processes seems to occur more frequently here in particular. However, being fair in this instance is not only about giving everyone opportunities but also about doctoral students being schooled in how academia, qualifications and collegiality function. It is not possible to claim that it is a fair system if doctoral students don’t know the rules of the game.”