Possibilities available to heads of departments

Responsibility for improving the gender balance among academic staff has been placed at the departmental level. The heads of department are responsible for integrating this work into the department's work an ensuring support for it among academic staff, and for the goals being attained within their subject areas during the plan period. In orther respects, tasks and responsibility will follow the school's organisation, and they are management responsibility at all levels.

Below is a brief overwiew of the possibilities, measures, and framework conditions etc. available to you as a head of the department. Please refer to the Action plan for gender equality and the Handbook for local gender equality work for further details. See also "Possibilities available to women on the academic staff" for more information.

The departments are free to choose the measures they deem to be expedient in order to reach their figures within the framework of the school's strategic action plan, adopted budgets and the statutory and regulatory framework.
Goals and measures for improved gender balance in academic positions will be integrated into all work on overriding strategies, plans, regulations, guidelines and reports.
It has been decided to incorporate gender equality into the school's overriding materiality assessments in relation to the school's strategic action plan and reporting and planning.
The Board and the school's management encourage and give central support to the use of earmarking when appointing people to research scholarships, postdoctoral positions and adjunct positions - provided that the Ministry gives its approval.
The departments can be allocated centrally earmarked research scholarships and postdoctoral positions - provided that the Ministry gives its approval.
The Board will allocate annual funding to be used for central measures and to stimulate measures initiated locally. The funds will be distributed by the Academic Appointment Committee.
The regulations relating to leaves of absence for research purposes allows female associate professors to earn their first two years of leaves of absence for research purposes in half the ordinary time. The departments will be entitled to a refund of NOK 80,000 for each semester of leave of absence for research purposes taken under this scheme. The scheme will take effect in 2009.
The following financial incentive model applies:
- One-off payments will be given for the appointment of new female postdoctoral researchers, associate professors and professors in accordance with the following rates:
  - Post doctoral Researshers NOK 50,000
  - Associate Professors/Professors NOK 125,000
- For the appointment of women to adjunct positions, half the pay costs for the first year will be covered from the gender equality funds.

This model applies to the departments in which the proportion of women in academic positions is less than 40%.

Gender equality will be integrated into the school's long-term budget.
Senior Adviser Ingebjørg Tyssedal will act as resource person for gender equality work and will assist departments and other units in their effort to improve the gender balance in academic positions. Ingebjørg Tyssedal can be contacted by telephone (+47) 55 95 94 06 or e-mail Ingebjø;rg.Tyssedal@nhh.no