To attract and retain more women to Chalmers is an important part of the Genie gender equality initiative. Astrophysicist Carina Persson is one of the researchers at Chalmers who, thanks to the initiative, has received a base funded position – and, in turn, has also increased creativity and innovation in her research. "If we are to achieve real gender equality, we need active investments," she says.
The dream of her future profession was born already when Carina Persson was a child. One evening, she looked up at the starry sky and asked her parents about the glowing dots. The answer aroused a curiosity that has not been quenched since.
"When I found out that we are surrounded by other suns far out in space, I felt: Wow! What if there are others looking down on us? For me, astronomy is a kind of creative physics that deals with the really big questions: Where do we come from, how does it all fit together, and of course – could there be life on other planets?”
Almost half a century later, Carina Persson looks out to the sea and the three mighty space telescopes standing out against the horizon. The place is Onsala Space Observatory, where she has spent countless research hours in recent years.
"This is a fantastic place!” she says.
Exhausting funding stress
Carina Persson is an Associate Professor and astrophysicist at the Department of Space, Earth and Environment at Chalmers University of Technology. She is one of relatively few researchers in the world who researches exoplanets – planets around other stars – and she really enjoys her job. Today, she feels secure in her employment and freedom and support in her research. But the road to get there has been both winding and long.
When Carina Persson got one of the few doctoral positions in Sweden that was available in astronomy at the time, she was a single parent of four children. After her doctoral studies, she had no opportunity to follow the invitation to do her postdoc abroad. Instead, the research journey continued at Chalmers, for many years as an externally funded researcher. An externally funded position means that the research is not funded by the university, but by external research funders. Carina needed to apply for funding for all the research projects she led, a situation that in the long run became tiring.
"It's incredibly stressful to never know if you'll have a job for more than a certain period of time, especially when you have a family. And it's tough to raise money for yourself as well as for a PhD student, especially as a young researcher. For me, it also felt mentally discouraging that Chalmers didn't seem to value me, and I was close to giving up many times. I think a lot of good researchers, not least women, switch to work in the industry, which has completely different working conditions," she says.
Base funding brought security and job satisfaction
In 2020, the situation changed thanks to Chalmers' gender equality initiative Genie, which meant that Carina Persson could be offered a base funded position. In the case of basic funding, half of the salary is paid by the university – and in Carina's case, Genie is responsible for the first four years of funding from Chalmers, for both her and a PhD student.
"It felt fantastic! Base funding provides a sense of security that makes me more creative. Now I feel that Chalmers believes in me, and I have a completely different joy in my job," she says.
Key to groundbreaking research
In Chalmers' vision, a higher proportion of base funded positions is identified as a key to scientific risk-taking, and thus the opportunity to achieve truly groundbreaking research findings. Carina Persson agrees.
"Without base funding, it’s easier to make cowardly decisions, and invest in safe areas that are guaranteed to generate publications. But to discover something really new, you have to dare to deviate from what is conventional! There may not be as many articles, but the ones that are published are more innovative. As a base funded person, I experience a completely different freedom, and dare to explore new ideas," she says.
Important recruitment strategy
Supporting recruitments to change the gender imbalance at Chalmers is one of Genie's main goals. Genie's support for base funding was part of that strategy, and in many – but not all – departments, a majority of the base funded faculty are men. At the same time, the base funding program, which ran from 2020 to 2022, had more objectives.
The program also started as a way to recruit “locally”, to increase diversity and excellence. This provided an opportunity to retain and invest in researchers who are strategically important at the department, and who through the investment gained stability to grow and develop their research. A method that Carina Persson believes is central to Chalmers' gender equality work.
"We will never achieve an even gender balance if we don't make active, conscious efforts. It is extremely important that more women want to come to Chalmers, and that they want to stay. Otherwise, we risk losing many of the best," she says.
Favours research and work climate
From time to time, Carina has encountered criticism of Chalmers' gender equality initiatives, especially when it comes to recruitment. She feels strong anger towards the arguments that are sometimes being used, and towards the idea that a specific investment in women would lead to less competent candidates being hired.
"Of course, we shouldn't hire on inferior merits, but there are so many women who have all the qualifications but still don't get considered. That's why I get angry when I hear people say, "We shouldn't prioritize gender, but competence." Men have always prioritized each other, and women are no less competent than men! There are no objective comparisons between candidates, we humans have a tendency to seek out what we recognize and can relate to. This means that qualified women risk being screened out when men choose men," she says.
She points out that as the proportion of women increases in a field, it encourages more women to apply for work in that same area. A more even gender balance is also important in terms of being a role model that attracts future generations to Chalmers. And in turn, it will improve the work climate in general, she emphasizes.
"In more mixed groups, there is a different atmosphere, more ways of thinking and new approaches. This, in turn, paves the way for better research and teaching. Above all, however, I believe that equality is a question of democracy: half of the population has not been given the same opportunities! I feel that many people, even at Chalmers, are not really interested in gender equality, but do the bare minimum for show. But there are no shortcuts. Changing structures and ingrained ways of thinking is difficult and requires self-examination. But it's absolutely necessary if Chalmers is to achieve real gender equality," she says.
More about base funding
• A base funded position means that the university pays part of the researcher's salary. A position with external funding means that the research is not funded by the university at all, but entirely by external research funders. External research funding can come from various sources, such as EU framework programmes, research councils, innovation agencies, the private sector or foundations.
• Chalmers' permanent faculty divided into externally funded and base funded data from 2023 and (2018): 25% (30%) women in the externally funded faculty and 28% (22%) in the base funded faculty.
• Between 2000–2022, four researchers were able to move from externally funded to base funded positions at Chalmers, thanks to support from the gender equality initiative Genie.
- Professor, Astronomy and Plasma Physics, Space, Earth and Environment