Most technical universities struggle with working towards gender equality and increased diversity among research staff. In their doctoral thesis, Kai Lo Andersson followed the processes of gender equality and diversity work at different technical universities, but mainly at Chalmers.
What challenges do you focus on in your research?
"There has been a continuous struggle to see gender equality as more than just increasing the number of women. In my research, I have looked at the cultural aspects of gender equality work. What is the outlook of the people working with these issues? What resources do they feel are available, and what change is feasible?"
How do you address the problem?
"By studying change processes and how a university organization works with gender equality, I have observed some tendencies that are highlighted in my research as possible issues to reach the goals of increased numerical and cultural gender equality. I also provided policy suggestions during my time as a PhD student."
What are the main findings?
"In my first article, my supervisor and I looked at how the professional identity of academic engineers expressed itself in a large gender equality initiative. We found tendencies described in previous research but not in this specific context. These findings relate to what is seen as feasible with a slow-moving organization such as a university. There was a drive for action and focusing on engineers as the leaders for that action. Perspectives from social sciences were often not included in decision-making, frequently referencing that engineering colleagues would not respect that knowledge as valid. This struggle for legitimacy is very interesting, but practically, it can lead to an over-adaption to dominant narratives, where looking at the number of women is mostly accepted, but cultural aspects of exclusion and discrimination are dealt with as individual cases only, overlooking structural aspects within the organization that enable such behaviors."
What do you hope your research will lead to?
"I hope that the work to increase diversity, equity, and gender equality for research staff will continue to focus on cultural aspects. I suggest critically and continuously evaluating the work and analyzing how organizations integrate these issues into their strategies and practices."
Read the thesis: Engineering Gender Equality
Public defence: 9 May 2025 at 13.15, see link above.
- Doctoral Student, Science, Technology and Society, Technology Management and Economics
- Head of Division, Science, Technology and Society, Technology Management and Economics