UNIS Gender Equality Plan 2024
This page presents UNIS´ Gender Equality Plan (GEP). The plan supports an environment of equitable opportunities for individuals not withstanding their gender and helps to enhance quality in research, education, and the work environment.
The plan is a dynamic document, subject to annual revision in January, coinciding with the development of the previous year’s annual report. UNIS’ first GEP was published in 2023. The Director’s Leader Group approved the 2024 plan on 6 December 2024.
1. Briefly about UNIS
The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), situated at 78o N in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, is the northernmost higher education institution globally. Established in 1993, UNIS operates as a state-owned limited company under the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, overseen by a Board of Directors appointed by the Ministry. Focused on Arctic Biology, Arctic Geology, Arctic Geophysics, and Arctic Technology, UNIS provides courses and supervision at the bachelor, master, and PhD levels, serving as an Arctic continuation of study programs offered by the Norwegian universities. While not granting academic degrees, UNIS utilizes the unique Svalbard nature extensively for education and research, excelling in Arctic field-based education.
A typical UNIS student spends six weeks to a full semester in Svalbard. PhD fellows typically spend 3 to 4 years at our institute. We aim for 220 student years through the presence of 700-800 individual students per year, with half of them being associated with Norwegian universities and the other half having international affiliations. Our diverse academic community represents over 40 nations each academic year.
The UNIS gender equality work is integral to our company’s strategy (Strategy 2025), valuing employees and students as our most vital resources and acknowledging that gender equality is integral to achieving our full potential as an institution. We emphasize equal treatment for all employees, and our personnel policy, internal guidelines, and routines firmly prioritize equality and non-discrimination in accordance with Norwegian law. We recognize the significance of achieving gender balance in student enrolment, recruitment positions (PhD and PD), and professor appointments to foster the next generation of Arctic experts. We recognize that structural inequities in career progression and recognition nevertheless exist and may influence employees at all career levels. We strive to understand and document how they affect employees at our company. Gender equality in hiring, task distribution, and career success is also important in terms of representation and recognition for our student body. While we mainly detail our development with regards to the annual status of equitable students and staff in numbers below, we highlight and acknowledge that achieving gender equality is not merely about numerical representation but requires a cultural change which we commit and dedicate ourselves to..
2. The Current Situation
2.1 Status Equitable Students
At UNIS, there has been a consistent trend showing a slightly higher percentage of female students compared to male students. Over the last 5 years, the distribution was as follows:
| Year | # of students | Male (%) | Female (%) |
| 2023 | 619 | 38 | 62 |
| 2022 | 717 | 44 | 56 |
| 2021 | 482 | 44 | 56 |
| 2020 | 299 | 45 | 55 |
| 2019 | 743 | 43 | 57 |
| 2018 | 772 | 47 | 53 |
For 2023, the student numbers by scientific department are as follows:
| Department | # of students | Male (%) | Female (%) | # Male not passed | # Female not passed |
| Arctic Biology | 146 | 28 | 72 | 1 | 0 |
| Arctic Geology | 201 | 35 | 65 | 20 | 2 |
| Arctic Geophyics | 153 | 45 | 55 | 2 | 14 |
| Arctic Technology | 114 | 50 | 50 | 3 | 2 |
| Safety Centre | 161 | 43 | 57 | 2 | 1 |
2.2 Status Equitable Staffing
To monitor our staffing trends over time, an annual employee headcount report has been established. Over the last 6 years, the overall staff gender distribution was as follows:
| Year | # Women | # Men | # Women (allstaff) | Female leaders | Male leaders | # Women (leaders) |
| 2018 | 56 | 77 | 42 % | 3 | 5 | 38 % |
| 2019 | 56 | 75 | 43 % | 3 | 5 | 38 % |
| 2020 | 58 | 83 | 41 % | 3 | 5 | 38 % |
| 2021 | 64 | 91 | 41 % | 3 | 6 | 33 % |
| 2022 | 64 | 84 | 43 % | 3 | 6 | 33 % |
| 2023 | 65 | 78 | 45 % | 3 | 7 | 30 % |
As of 31.12.2023, the distribution of men and women in researcher and technical/administrative positions:
| Position | # Women | # Men | % Women | |||
| 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Research assistant | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 100 |
| PhD | 9 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 43 | 42 |
| Postdoc | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 100 |
| Researcher | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 71 | 67 |
| Adjunct associate professor | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 50 | 42 |
| Associate professor | 7 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 54 | 61 |
| Adjunct professor | 7 | 6 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 22 |
| Professor | 5 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 38 | 36 |
| Total scientific staff | 43 | 42 | 59 | 56 | 42 | 43 |
| Administration | 8 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 67 | 54 |
| Academic Affairs | 9 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 82 | 90 |
| Technical department / Operations and field safety | 4 | 4 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 32 |
| Administrative staff in scientific departments | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 38 |
| Total technical/administrative staff | 21 | 23 | 25 | 22 | 46 | 51 |
| Total | 64 | 65 | 84 | 78 | 43 | 45 |
In the different scientific departments, the gender distribution across positions has developed as follows over the last three years:
| Department / Position | # Women | # Men | % Women | ||||||
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Arctic Biology | 14 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 50 | 62 | 64 |
| Arctic Geology | 11 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 35 | 32 | 42 |
| Arctic Geophysics | 12 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 43 | 42 | 40 |
| Arctic Technology | 5 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 31 | 27 | 29 |
| Arctic Safety Centre | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Note: These numbers include externally financed positions.
As of 31.12.2023, the gender distribution in boards, groups, and committees was as follows:
| # Women | # Men | % Women | ||||
| 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| UNIS Board of Directors | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 64 | 55 |
| Leader Group | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 30 |
| Education Committee | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 56 | 50 |
| Working Environment Committee | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 50 | 33 |
| Employee organisation | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 40 | 43 |
| Appointment Committee | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 40 | 40 |
| Research Ethics Committee | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 50 |
| Gender Equality + Diversity Committee | – | 3 | – | 2 | – | 60 |
2.3 Status of Gender Representation in Teaching Staff (student contact hours)
Many courses offered at UNIS involve a significant number of external guest lecturers as well as field and teaching assistants employed on a short-term basis. This teaching staff is not reflected in the UNIS staffing numbers but influences the gender representation among teaching staff as perceived by students. To assess gender representation in student contact hours with the teaching staff, we established a survey among course leaders – conducted for the first time in March/April 2024. Please note that the data is not available for all courses. For the 2023 courses, the gender distribution among teaching staff was as follows:
| Department | Type of teaching | % Women | |
| BSc level/general | MSc/PhD level | ||
| Arctic Biology Data available from 3/5 BSc courses 4/8 MSc/PhD courses | Lectures & Seminars | 64 | 56 |
| Fieldwork – daytrips | 52 | 50 | |
| Fieldwork – overnight trips | 52 | 50 | |
| Arctic Geology Data available from 4/6 BSc courses 3/8 MSc/PhD courses | Lectures & Seminars | 33 | 39 |
| Fieldwork – daytrips | 50 | 38 | |
| Fieldwork – overnight trips | 50 | 25 | |
| Arctic Geophysics Data available from 7/7 BSc courses 7/7 MSc/PhD courses | Fieldwork – daytrips | 33 | 38 |
| Fieldwork – overnight trips | 46 | 37 | |
| Fieldwork – overnight trips | 34 | 100 | |
| Arctic Technology Data available from 0/0 BSc courses 2/10 MSc/PhD courses | Lectures & Seminars | – | 45 |
| Fieldwork – daytrips | – | 50 | |
| Fieldwork – overnight trips | – | NA | |
| Arctic Safety Centre/Operations and Field Safety Data available from 2/2 BSc courses 1/3 MSc/PhD courses | Lectures & Seminars | 30 | 5 |
| Fieldwork – daytrips | 30 | 0 | |
| Fieldwork – overnight trips | NA | NA | |
2.4 Status of Equitable Publication Rewards
An important concern in academia is the potential disparity between men and women in obtaining co-authorships in publications. To monitor potential disparities, we therefore established an annual monitoring of co-authorships, focussing on the average number of co-authorships per male/female author. These findings are based on the number of publications registered in the Norwegian report system, Cristin, for all authors registered with a UNIS affiliation.
For 2018-2023, the distribution of co-authorships looks as follows:
| # Co-authorships | # Authors with UNIS affiliation | Average # Co-authorships/author | ||||
| Year | Female authors | Male authors | Female | Male | Female | Male |
| 2018 | 87 | 184 | 46 | 86 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
| 2019 | 87 | 183 | 49 | 89 | 1.8 | 2.1 |
| 2020 | 79 | 181 | 48 | 72 | 1.7 | 2.5 |
| 2021 | 92 | 180 | 50 | 72 | 1.8 | 2.5 |
| 2022 | 81 | 126 | 53 | 73 | 1.5 | 1.7 |
| 2023 | 108 | 174 | 47 | 69 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
2.5 Summary of the Current Situtation
Our data reveal a gender balance in staffing ranging approximately from 40 % to 60 % over the past five years. Given UNIS’ status as a small academic organization in the field of natural science and technology, we consider this range to be a realistic target. It is essential to acknowledge that UNIS experiences relatively large staff turnover, which can influence this balance in the short-term.
However, despite this overall balance, there are disparities that warrant focused attention:
- Underrepresentation of female professors (36% compared to 64% male representation)
- Underrepresentation of female adjunct professors (22% compared to 78% male representation)
- The percentage of women in leadership positions has gradually decreased from 38% in 2018 to 30% in 2023.
- Slight underrepresentation of female teaching staff in student contact hours in all departments except Arctic Biology.
- Slight recognition disparities in academic contributions (measured as average number of co-authorships/author).
Addressing these disparities is crucial to fostering a more inclusive and equitable academic environment at UNIS.
3. Objectives, Actions, and Progress Monitoring
Our primary goal is to strengthen our commitment to achieving organization-wide gender equality in student recruitment, staffing, teaching contact hours, and career progression through systematic and sustainable initiatives. This work is still at an early stage, and we see the need for both cultural change and increased attention to equality in numbers. To achieve this overall aim, we formulate the following set of objectives with associated actions, for which progress will be monitored.
Objective 1: We aim to enhance female representation among adjunct professors (Prof II) within our institution from 22 % in 2022 to a minimum of 40 % by 2028.
- Action 1: By 31 January 2024, the science department leaders must develop recruitment strategies for adjunct professors, aiming to achieve the targeted gender balance goal by 2028 (UNIS GEP 2023).
- Progress: From 2022 to 2023, the proportion of female adjunct professors remained constant at 22%. It is important to note though that the adjunct staff contract periods typically span from 2 to 4 years. The recruitment strategies are slightly delayed in their development but are currently under discussion.
Objective 2: We aim to achieve gender equality in the acknowledgement and recognition of academic contribution, measured as average number of co-authorships per author.
- Action 2: In 2024, we will develop clear and consistent guidelines for scientific collaboration and co-authorships involving UNIS employees, promoting fairness, transparency, and recognition without bias related to gender or seniority. These guidelines will be uniformly implemented at UNIS; their implementation is regarded essential in ensuring gender equity in academic career development, from students to full professors.
- Progress: The process has been initiated by the GEP Committee, and we aim to finalise the guidelines before summer 2025. For the recent years (2022 and 2023), our data shows that the number of co-authorships per author has already gotten more balanced between genders.
Objective 3: We aim to achieve gender equality in the overall teaching staff, including guest lecturers and teaching/field assistant (i.e., equal gender representation in teaching contact hours).
- Action 3: To account for non-permanent teaching staff that is not represented in the UNIS staffing numbers but contributes to gender representation as perceived by the students (guest lecturers, teaching and field assistants), we will establish an annual monitoring of gender representation among all teaching staff involved in UNIS courses.
- Progress: The process has been initiated by the GEP Committee with a survey in 2024, asking all UNIS course leaders to provide the numbers for all 2023 courses. We will continue this work and aim to automate this process as part of the annual course leader course evaluations, facilitated by the study administration.
Objective 4: We aim at achieving gender equality in academic career advancements, particularly towards the attainment of full professor positions.
- Progress: This is an ongoing effort. Since joining the national professor promotion program in 2021, we have successfully promoted three female associate professors to full professors (1 in 2021, 1 in 2022, and 1 in 2024). It remains our aspiration to encourage all associate professors at UNIS to strive for promotion to full professorship during their careers. To facilitate this, department leaders have the responsibility of providing guidance and support in the development of individual career plans for their employees. UNIS leadership has the responsibility to provide information, generate awareness and improve understanding of structural barriers to career progression. UNIS professors, who benefit from 60 % research time and acquire 3 months of sabbatical each year, are encouraged to actively utilize these resources. It is the responsibility of UNIS leadership/department leaders to make sure that resources exist to make this possible, and that barriers are dealt with.
Objective 5: Continually work towards creating awareness, develop initiatives, and monitoring progress towards achieving organization-wide gender equality in student recruitment, staffing, and teaching contact hours.
- Action 4: Establish a cross-departmental group including members of UNIS leadership to develop and lead the work towards the first revision of this document. The group will meet on a regular basis and seek involvement from all UNIS employees, to further develop action points to achieve the goals set forward in this Gender Equality Plan (UNIS GEP 2023).
- Action 5: Initiate a UNIS GEP Strategy Day focused on developing organizational culture for equality in i) resource management (funding, teaching load, research time), ii) equal opportunities to develop professional networks and reputation building; and iii) fair distribution of administrative tasks and internal committee work. The first GEP Strategy Day will be part of the UNIS Strategy 2030 process.
- Action 6: Consider whether there is a legitimate need to ask for and collect information about sex/gender. If yes, provide options beyond the binary of male/female or man/woman.
- Progress: The Gender Equality Plan Committee has been established in December 2023 and has overseen the 2024 GEP revision (Action 4). In addition, the 2023 UNIS Learning Forum was dedicated to discussions around diversity and inclusion, under the motto ‘Building an inclusive and safe learning environment’. We aim to continue using the Learning Forum as a platform for UNIS-wide exchange and discussions around gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.
We recognize that other measurable and non-measurable parameters play an important role in career development, and we will continuously work to better incorporate these in future revisions of this Gender Equality Plan.
By striving towards these objectives, we are actively working towards fostering an inclusive and equitable environment at our institution, where all individuals have equal opportunities to thrive and succeed.
4. Responsibility and Resources
UNIS will enforce adherence to its Gender Equality Plan for all departments. Within their areas of authority, the department leaders will be responsible for developing comprehensive plans with clear objectives and action initiatives to foster balanced career development opportunities for all employees. Both department leaders and HR carry a specific responsibility to ensure that the implementation of moderate gender quotas is enforced in employment processes, aligning with the targeted goals set forth in this plan. Each of the four scientific departments will have a particular focus on preventing gender imbalance among teaching staff considering the total number of professors (associate &full professors) but also gender representation among guest lecturers and field-/teaching assistants. While the overall gender balance for academic staff at UNIS is currently acceptable, it is crucial to maintain a constant focus on gender balance in recruitment, career progression strategies and resource allocation within scientific departments with a small number of 5-9 full-time professors.
In line with legal guidelines, UNIS has established a policy of positive discrimination if a gender’s representation falls below 40 % to address any gender imbalances effectively.
The Gender Equality Plan Committee is responsible for the annual revision of the GEP. It will also lead the process of formulating UNIS co-authorship guidelines (to be finalised by the end of 2024) and facilitate continued exchange and discussion around gender representation, diversity, and inclusion among all working and studying at UNIS.
5. Progress Reports
Every year, the annual report serves as foundation for the review and revision process within the UNIS Leader Group.