Academic Leadership in the Nordic Countries: Patterns of Gender Equality

It is widely acknowledged that the Nordic countries rank highly when it comes to the role of women in the labor market. Equality of opportunity on gender grounds has been a central topic in the labor policy agendas of many Nordic governments since the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Notwithstanding this trend, studies reveal that there are still substantial gender imbalances in the academic profession, most notably when it comes to representation at the highest levels of the organization (institutional governance) and/or academic status. Thus, the rationale for this chapter is to take critical stock, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of the role of women in Nordic academia — Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland — with a special emphasis on their role at the highest governance and managerial levels. The chapter has three major aims. First, it will illuminate the key figures (official statistics and authors’ own data) regarding the gender split throughout the academic career path, as well as female representation in university senior management. Second, it will provide a comparison of policies — at the macro (government) and meso (case institutions) levels — aimed at reducing the gender gap within Nordic academia. Third, it will cast a critical light — by drawing upon new qualitative datasets — on the backgrounds and experiences of a number of senior female leaders at selected case institutions, with a particular emphasis on career trajectories and structural and cultural barriers.