4.4.3 Intersectional Gender Equality within Academia - Exploring Sustainable Futures in the Arctic

Convener: Mervi Heikkinen (University of Oulu), Co-convener(s): Anna R. Rönkä (University of Oulu), Kirsti Lempiäinen (University of Lapland), Britt-Inger Keisu (Umeå University), Lena Abrahamsson (Luleå University of Technology) and Lilli Mittner (UiT The Arctic University of Norway)

Session description

Arctic universities are engaging with a process of developing resilient, diverse, and inclusive  Arctic communities and contributing to it via knowledge co-production. However, intersectional gender inequality is a pervasive issue in societies, in the northernmost societies, as well as in Arctic higher education institutions (HEIs), alike. It is linked with unfulfilled potential of all people to participate in academic knowledge production and thus knowledge production practices suitable to Arctic communities. Studies have focused on women, indigenous Peoples, and minorities as knowledge holders and in challenges pursuing their academic careers, but also in academic masculinities and strategies, policies, plans and curricula. Inequality is also linked with horizontal and vertical gender segregation within disciplines, which is further connected with occupational segregation and gender pay gaps, as well as various biases reproduced. There is a general shortage of research knowledge regarding intersectional gender equality in circumpolar and Arctic areas, more specifically in HEIs. Yet, some work has been already done e.g., decolonization of knowledge. The aim of this session is to explore the meaning of intersectional gender equality in the Arctic knowledge production and its evolving methodologies, e.g. participatory methods and citizen sciences as well as potential implications of intersectional gender equality work at the HEIs.

We invite papers to the session and would like to consider them to a book proposal on Intersectional Gender Equality in Academia - Exploring Sustainable Futures in the Arctic. Session is organised by the NOS-HS researchers network on the theme: https://www.oulu.fi/en/projects/intersectional-gender-equality-academia-arctic-north

We welcome abstracts for this open session by 5 January 2024.

For more information and abstract submissions through following page: Call for Abstracts — Arctic Congress 2024 Bodø