About the FIELD program
The program aims to promote gender equal meriting opportunities and is based on mentorship, seminars and networking. While there is generally a leaking pipeline in academia, our activities need to be longterm and address core areas to stimulate an organisational change. The FIELD program is part of a larger initiative from the Committee for Research on behalf of the Faculty Board.
Why is FIELD needed
- There are approximately 2 male professors for each female professor, women are overrepresented at lower levels (62% at PhD level) at KI (Holst & Hägg, 2017)
- Studies have shown gender bias in the peer review process (Wennerås & Wold, 1997)
- Men perceive their academic workplaces more gender equal than women (SULF, 2021)
- Women spend significantly more time on academic service work than men (JF survey, 2022; Järvinen et al, 2024)
- Prevalence of work environment problems and health problems is significantly higher among women – especially for younger women and women in lower academic positions. Good psycho-social working environment is strongly associated to research excellence (i.e. publication in high impact journals, share of top 5%) (Lohela-Karlsson, Nyberg & Jensen, 2018)
Background
KI’s Strategy 2030 states that KI “must strive to secure equal conditions and career paths for all employees”. One of the initiatives to strengthen KI as a pioneering research university is to strengthening gender equal meriting opportunities.
In that spirit, KI has launched the FIELD program, which is part of a larger initiative from the Committee for research on behalf of the Faculty Board.
Content of the program
Retreat
The program starts with a two-day retreat in the Stockholm area.
Mentorship
During the whole program, fellows take part in smaller mentoring groups for support and reflections about career opportunities. Mentors are experienced researchers and teachers at KI. Mentors and participants are matched by the program team.
Seminars
The program consists of seminars held by leading researchers from different universities. The seminars give science based knowledge and possibilities to relate own experiences with the different topics covered: gender and organisation, work environment and gender equality; career trajectories; academic citizenship and housekeeping; gender equal meriting; leadership and change.
Networking
The program offers a unique possibility to build strong networks with the participating fellows and mentors.