ITU launches action plan for gender diversity among employees

With a new action plan, the IT University of Copenhagen will work systematically and strategically to promote gender diversity by ensuring equal opportunities for all employees.

About ITU diversity Martin Tvede Zachariasen

Written November 12, 2020 10:55 AM by Vibeke Arildsen

Although the proportion of female researchers at the Danish universities is increasing, the gender balance is only slowly becoming more equal. According to the 2019 ‘Talent Baromenter’ published by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, almost twice as many men as women were employed as researchers at Danish universities in 2018. Fewest women are found at the professor level, where less than one in four is female.

These trends are also evident at ITU. Although the proportion of female researchers has increased from 21 percent in 2008 to 31 percent in 2018, the development is too slow, says Martin Tvede Zachariasen, Vice Chancellor at ITU.

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If we do not have access to the entire pool of research talents, we frankly risk missing out on knowledge and perspectives that could lead to important research breakthroughs.
Martin Tvede Zachariasen, Vice Chancellor at ITU
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“If we do not take advantage of the entire pool of research talents, we frankly risk missing out on knowledge and perspectives that could lead to important research breakthroughs. It is very important that ITU gives equal opportunities for all employees, and we believe that diversity, especially gender diversity, is a strength when it comes to creating a good working environment, and also when it comes to performance," he says.

Therefore, the university will now work actively to increase gender diversity among employees. In August, the ITU’s Executive Management approved an action plan for the advancement of gender diversity, which includes initiatives on recruitment and the working environment.

The effort to increase gender balance among employees is an extension of ITU's long-standing effort to increase gender diversity in technical IT study programmes such as Software Development. Here, the proportion of women among newly admitted students has increased from just 11 percent in 2015 to 27 percent this year.

Creating an inclusive work environment

An important focal point in the action plan is to ensure a good and inclusive working environment, says Martin Tvede Zachariasen.

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The recent testemonials of sexism and sexual harassment in the Danish research community tells us that we as universities have a major and important task in ensuring that all employees can carry out their work without experiencing gender-based harassment or discrimination.
Martin Tvede Zachariasen, Vice Chancellor at ITU
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“The recent testimonials of sexism and sexual harassment in the Danish research community tells us that we as universities have a major and important task in ensuring that all employees can carry out their work without experiencing gender-based harassment or discrimination. It is very much the responsibility of management to create the necessary change in culture,” he says.

One of the first specific initiatives to be launched is a workshop that will equip all managers with personnel responsibilities with tools to support an inclusive culture, as well as methods to prevent and deal with discrimination, sexism and sexual harassment. The workshop will take place in November, and will next year be followed up with workshops for teachers and teaching assistants on how to identify and address inappropriate behavior in teaching and supervision situations.

Avoiding unconscious bias in recruitment

Another of the initiatives in the action plan is to ensure that the university's recruitment processes are fair and that unconscious bias is avoided.

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Essentially, it is all about attracting both male and female applicants, so that we can find the best candidates.
Martin Tvede Zachariasen, Vice Chancellor at ITU
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“We know that the abilities of men and women aren’t always judged in the same way. One example is the stereotypical narrative that women are less qualified at math and technical sciences. Such tacit barriers are at play in society in general, and we have to assume that these are also present at ITU. We will, among other things, provide new tools for hiring managers and work with our job postings to ensure that they are broad enough to attract a wide field of applicants. Essentially, it is all about attracting both male and female applicants, so that we can find the best candidates,” says Martin Tvede Zachariasen.

With the new action plan, ITU's management also commits itself to preparing a so-called Gender Equality Plan, an internationally recognized systematic method of working with gender diversity and ensuring that initiatives are followed up on.

Further information

Vibeke Arildsen, Press Officer, phone 2555 0447, email viar@itu.dk