Engagement with equal opportunities strong at national conference

Energy and commitment is evident all across Sweden in work on equal opportunities and gender equality at higher education institutions. This was one of the clearest takeaways from the National Equal Opportunities Conference held on 18-19 November in Uppsala, according to Åsa Cajander, Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor on Equal Opportunities.

“Many of those who attended the conference stated that they felt both strengthened and inspired by sharing experiences, seeing concrete examples, and discovering that the challenges they wrestle with locally are often shared by others. For us at Uppsala University, it was particularly valuable to discuss how to keep this work going long term, and how to create even better support structures for those who work with these issues in the University’s core activities,” she says.

Collaborations and networks involving multiple higher education institutions play a significant role in continuous development in this area at Uppsala University. Through national contacts, the University can gauge its own ways of working in relation to others, and share in proven solutions.

“This sharing of experiences also lends legitimacy and weight to this development work internally. It also makes clear that we are moving in the same direction as the sector as a whole is moving,” Åsa explains.

Focus on providing clearer support and simpler processes

Åsa Cajander explains that one of the most important insights from the conference was the need to make it easy to work with equal opportunities at the local level. Clarifying what support is available, communication and who is responsible for what between central functions, faculties and departments are all key aspects of this work moving forward.

“We see a need to create more forums where people with assignments in equal opportunities can meet, monitor what is being done, and learn from each other,” says Åsa.

A defining feature of this work in the coming year will be the implementation and anchoring of the new Equal Opportunities and Gender Equality Programme. An important part of this will be to strengthen the support provided to managers and key individuals, where the focus will be on providing knowledge and practical tools to translate the content of the programme into day-to-day work.

“Developing knowledge and skills is an important aspect of this work, which will be led by the Student Affairs and Academic Registry Division, where we will be working in particular on enhancing the knowledge and skills of teaching staff to help make their interactions with students with neurodevelopmental disorders more inclusive,” Åsa explains.

The conference as a springboard for operational-level improvements

The new Equal Opportunities and Gender Equality Programme will serve as a common vision and direction for the whole University in these issues. The programme includes principles, target areas and strategies and ties this work to the University’s mission in education, research and third-stream activities.

“But the programme has been deliberately kept at an overarching level, which means that it needs to be supplemented with clearer priorities and the allocation of responsibilities at different levels in the organisation. We see the conference as an important springboard in the ongoing work to make this vision more concrete at the operational level, so that staff and students will notice actual improvements in their daily lives at the University to a greater degree,” says Åsa Cajander.

Johan Ahlenius