Corporate Paternity Leave: Communication and impact
On Friday 14 March 2025 Agnes Bamford will hold a trial lecture on a prescribed topic and defend her thesis for the PhD degree at NHH.
Lecturer Agnes Bamford
- Agnes.Bamford@nhh.no
- Telephone
- +47 55 95 95 09
- Department
- Professional and Intercultural Communication
- Office
- D204
- Expertise
- Intercultural communication Business English Corporate communication Diversity Management Discourse analysis.
Agnes Bamford is a Lecturer at the Department of Professional and Intercultural Communication at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH). Her teaching and research interests include intercultural business communication, discourse analysis diversity management and gender equality in organisational contexts.
At NHH, Bamford teaches intercultural communication to bachelor and master students across several courses, including FSK20, INT111, INS410, and the Intern A-M program. Her teaching philosophy emphasises active learning, critical thinking and cultural awareness.
Bamford brings 20 years of international business experience to her academic work. She has worked in financial services in London for Bloomberg LP, served as a board member of the Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce for seven years, and led an intercultural business consultancy across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. These roles have deepened her understanding of the challenges and opportunities in fostering inclusive and sustainable workplaces.
Her research explores the intersections of communication, culture, and gender, with a particular focus on how corporate policies—such as global parental leave—can promote gender equality and reduce workplace biases.
Bamford holds a PhD in Intercultural Communication from NHH (2025), an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of London (2018), and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from University College London. She is also a graduate (siviløkonom) of the Norwegian School of Economics.
Areas of expertise (Norwegian):
Interkulturell kommunikasjon og engelsk fagspråk.
Selected publications
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Bamford, Agnes | Global paternity leave in four multinational corporations: a facilitator of paternal agency? | Journal of Family Studies; 2025 |
| Juranek, Steffen; Bamford, Agnes; Tatavarthy, Aruna Divya | Innovation School - evaluering av et internasjonalt internship på kort og lang sikt | Magma forskning og viten Volume 27 (4); page 101 - 108; 2024 |
| Bamford, Agnes | Global Paternity Leave as a DEI Initiative in Four Multinational Corporations | Lingue Culture Mediazioni (LCM) Volume 11 (1); page 117 - 140; 2024 |
| Bamford, Agnes | Standardising Fatherhood across Cultures: A Linguistic Approach to Studying the Communication of a New Global Company Policy in Multinational Corporations | HERMES - Journal of Language and Communication in Business (62); page 87 - 105; 2022 |
TEACHING AREAS
Internship Abroad Master (Intern A-M)
Working successfully across cultures (FSK20)
Praksisseminar i Sør-Afrika (INT111)
Diversity Management and Inclusion (ENG11 og CEMS Global Leadership)
TEACHING PORTFOLIO
Dissemination
Paternity leave – a Norwegian export?
The gender pay gap widens significantly after women have children, but this can be reduced if parental duties are shared more evenly. Norwegian men are succeeding as first movers in this area, where few other countries have ventured.
HOW TO AVOID EMBARRASSING MISTAKES IN ENGLISH
In English, the Norwegian term ‘minibank’ does not translate to ‘minibank’. And you cannot simply translate ‘konstituert leder’ into ‘constituted leader’. NHH Norwegian School of Economics’ new, freely available term base can help avoid the most embarrassing mistakes.
Norwegian men as an export item
Norwegian men pushing prams during working hours have caught the attention of the EU. The EU and multinational corporations are now introducing paternity leave, inspired by the Norwegian father's quota.
Women who wish to travel are forced to share irrelevant and intimate details about their private lives.
There is a lack of cultural awareness and gender equality in the travel industry.
Without a fathers’ quota, it is unlikely that Norwegian men would have taken paternity leave.
There could be a conflict between focussing on politically correct terms and promoting gender equality, PhD Candidate Agnes Bamford writes in Forskersonen.
Også menn diskrimineres – særlig som fedre | DN,Dagens næringsliv, 05.12.2024
– Mine barn har god erfaring med engelsk skole,Bergens Tidende, 04.09.2024
Tradwife: – Menn må også få slippe til,Bergens Tidende, 24.06.2024
SLIK UNNGÅR DU PINLIGE SPRÅKTABBER PÅ ENGELSK, Kronikk, Dagens næringsliv, 28.12.2022
VET KVINNER I NORGE EGENTLIG HVA DE VIL?, kronikk NHH Bulletin, 21.11.2022
UHELDIG EKSKLUDERING AV FEDRE, kronikk NHH Bulletin, 12.05.2022
FRU ELLER FRØKEN?, kronikk NHH Bulletin, 07.03.2022
UTDATERTE FORESTILLINGER OM NORSKE HANDELSHØYSKOLER, kronikk KHRONO, 01.02.2022
NORSK SPRÅK I AKADEMIA STÅR I ET SPENNINGSFELT, kronikk NHH Bulletin, 19.11.2021
DERFOR FUNGERER DEN NORSKE FEDREKVOTEN, debatt BT (Bergens Tidende), 27.03.2021
DET ER IKKE ALLTID POLITISK KORREKTE BEGREP FREMMER LIKESTILLING, kronikk NHH Bulletin, 12.03.2021
HVA GJØR MENNENE OG BEDRIFTENE MED LØNNSGAPET?, kronikk NHH Bulletin, 20.11.2020
NORSKE STUDENTER KAN FÅ EN KNALLSTERK CV, kronikk NHH Bulletin, 07.10.2020