Should a female researcher experience different treatment from her male colleagues in 2022? Is it okay to mention women's maternity leave as a hindrance to a career in research – and how do you stop a superior, both male and female, who thinks it is okay to comment on employees looks, body or sexuality?

These are some of the questions that Jørgen Frøkiær, who is head of the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University, will now actively address.

A 56-page report from KVINFO, Denmark’s knowledge centre for gender and equality, has just landed on his desk as the result of a commission from the department management team, who, together with Dean Anne-Mette Hvas, wanted to work objectively and systematically with the sexism that came under the spotlight in connection with the MeToo movement:

"In recent years, we’ve become aware that in some of our academic environments there are employees who experience discrimination on the basis of gender. However, it’s difficult to uncover our own inappropriate cultures and power structures – the results aren’t qualified when you are a party in the matter. That’s why we asked KVINFO to help us with an impartial investigation, which will now be used as the starting point for working with both the culture and the structures at our department," says Jørgen Frøkiær.

Will ensure transparent processes

A total of 508 employees at the department have responded to a questionnaire in the survey. Of the 300 women who participated, 73 (24 per cent) replied that they experienced at least one form of discrimination on the basis of gender.

This could e.g. be the experience of not being taken seriously in work contexts because of gender or of being passed over in connection with career-promoting opportunities because of gender.

"Of course, it's unacceptable for a proportion of our employees to find that there are unequal conditions for men and women, so we will now begin ensuring that we have transparent processes – both formal and informal – for example in relation to academic appointments and thus equal access to career guidance," says Jørgen Frøkiær, who also mentions maternity leave as an area of special focus.

The report shows that far more women than men receive comments from colleagues or superiors, informing them that children are a handicap to a research career.

The participants in the study were also asked about their experiences with unwanted sexual attention. Here 56 female respondents (19 per cent) say that they have had at least one experience of this. Thirteen per cent of the male respondents answer the same.

In the study, unwanted sexual attention covers unwanted comments about a person’s body, sexuality and appearance and experiences of unwanted physical contact in the form of e.g. a massage or a hand on the thigh.

Considering exit interviews

KVINFO's report also indicates that only twenty out of the 110 who replied that they experienced discrimination on the basis of gender or unwanted sexual attention, have informed the management of their experience.

One reason for this is fear of this possibly affecting their career and also a lack of belief that they would be taken seriously.

"We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, and we must first and foremost make sure that the employees feel comfortable sharing experiences of offensive behaviour with others, so this will be a particular focal point in our work in the future," says Jørgen Frøkiær, who is also considering exit interviews with women who leave the department. This is one of KVINFO's many proposals in the report.

Aarhus University and the Faculty of Health, which the Department of Clinical Medicine is part of, already have considerable focus on the challenges of gender imbalance in academia.

This has led to the university establishing a Committee for Diversity and Equality, which works to promote equality for academic staff, other staff and students at the university.

According to the Dean of the Faculty of Health Anne-Mette Hvas, KVINFO's survey provides a valuable insight into the challenges facing both the Department of Clinical Medicine and the faculty.

"The KVINFO report contains recommendations for several initiatives that are important to the entire faculty. Therefore, we will use the results and recommendations as a starting point when we begin work in the Committee for Diversity and Equality, which we in the faculty management team have decided to establish in order to strengthen the work for equal conditions for all genders – both as researcher, administrative staff and student," she says.

Contact: 

Head of Department of Clinical Medicine, Jørgen Frøkiær.
jf@clin.au.dk
P: +45 20 23 45 27

Dean of Health, Anne-Mette Hvas
dean.health@au.dk
P: +45 87 15 20 07