Grass-root level equality and work wellbeing activities in atmospheric sciences in Finland
Abstract
In University of Helsinki, Finland, 30-40% of undergraduate students in physics and atmospheric sciences are women. In senior scientists, the percentage is around 30%. The leaky pipeline phenomenon is demonstrated by the fact that for full professors the percentage is well below 10%. Public annual scientific field specific statistic concerning the percentages of women at all levels of the academic ladder, and also for example applications, funding and hiring decisions are crucial for monitoring the equality situation. All the universities and funding agencies in Finland are urged to collect and publish these statistics routinely, which is not currently the case. An equality and work wellbeing group was established in 2011 at Division of Atmospheric Science (unit with more than 200 staff, formerly part of the Department of Physics, from 1.1.2018 onwards a separate Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research). The group has conducted equality and work wellbeing surveys at the division in 2012, 2015 and 2017, the latest survey being extended to the whole Faculty of Science in co-operation with the Dean. The results show that female members of the community feel less appreciated and consider the practices of the workplace less fair than male members, sentiments that are likely factors behind the leaky pipeline. These issues are pronounced in the case of the non-Finnish speaking females. 30-40% of all members of staff have experienced burnout symptoms, and some cases of sexual harassment and workplace bullying are reported. A key strategy of the grass-root equality work in this male-dominated environment with high risk of work related exhaustion has been to involve also men in measures both promoting gender equality and aiming to enhance work wellbeing of both male and female employees. Activities have included enhancing transparency of decision-making, day-to-day practices, and information flow, for example in the form of practical information collected to division internal web pages and a monthly division newsletter. The equality and work wellbeing group has organised recreation days and diverse social events keeping in mind that some people can or do not want to attend events after workhours. Self-written and self-acted drama has been used in several occasions to make discriminating behaviour visible. Equality and work wellbeing group, and its individual members, also work as a confidential contact point in the event of sexual harassment, bullying or workplace conflict.
- Publication:
-
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- April 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019EGUGA..2114051L