Diversity Policy
The policy and action plan on gender equality and diversity at NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER are closely linked with NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER’s mission and vision of “Knowledge for a better world”. Knowledge for a better world is best created in an organization with equal opportunity, diversity and gender balance. Promoting equality and tolerance regardless of philosophy of life, culture or gender is also a prerequisite for NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER’s values – brave, curious, dedicated and respectful. Consideration and respect must characterize interaction between staff and students.
Responsibility for an inclusive and diverse culture at work and throughout the organization ultimately rests with NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER’s managers at all levels, who are responsible for ensuring active and conscious initiatives to create a university with greater gender equality and diversity. In this context, leadership includes being a good role model for positive and appropriate behaviour.
All employees at NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER must have a fully justifiable work environment. Bullying and harassment must not occur at NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. Each individual has a duty to ensure that his or her behaviour is based on respect for colleagues and work partners, regardless of gender, cultural background, ethnicity, or other characteristics. Everyone is asked to speak up if they see others being subjected to harassment or similar behaviour.
NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER has a policy for gender equality that includes a perspective on diversity. The concept of diversity is broad.
NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER must contribute actively to gender equality and diversity in its own activities, as well as in working life in general.
NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER wants greater openness and knowledge about challenges in promoting gender equality, gender balance and diversity, and wants to include students and employees regardless of gender, gender identity, sexual identity, ethnicity, skin colour, national origin, cultural and religious background, functional capacity or age.
NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER is a broad-based workplace, with a technological and scientific main profile. It is vital to think about gender equality and diversity in the efforts to ensure breadth in aspects other than professional background, such as gender, ethnicity, functional capacity, age, religion, or sexual orientation.
Inclusive work and organizational culture
NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER’s goal is an inclusive work and organizational culture, characterized and created by the experience of both individuals and groups that they fit in, feel welcome, and receive confirmation of their own efforts. This includes factors such as conscious language use, a focus on clarity, and the use of language and communication channels that include all employees. The aim is to prevent alienation, insufficient skills development, and lack of influence over one’s own work situation.
Research on recruitment processes challenges the notion that assessments of qualifications in the recruitment process are always gender neutral. Studies show that both women and men unconsciously underestimate women and overestimate men. Unbalanced selection processes contribute to homogeneous environments and cement existing biases at NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. Knowledge and awareness of unconscious preconceptions of gender are very important in the appointment process to avoid loss of talented candidates.
The policy for gender equality and diversity must be integrated in all aspects of NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER’s activities and applies to all employees, regardless of position.
Status, women and men in positions
The proportion of women employed at NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERis 34% and thus above the national average of 27%.
For the broader concept of diversity, which includes factors other than gender, we do not have a sound basis of data to provide a status. For this reason, the action plan addresses the need for greater knowledge about diversity in our own organization and about any challenges related to integration and the like.
Gender equality and diversity in leadership and governance
For NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER to achieve its goal of gender equality and diversity, competent management as well as wise and committed leaders in all parts of the organization are essential. It is important to address gender equality and diversity during recruitment of managers, and that this becomes a natural part of management training at NTNU TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.
Leaders should be measured by the way they contribute to gender equality and diversity. Because gender balance varies significantly between departments and often even more between academic groups, it is important to focus attention on these levels.