Co-creating Gender Equality from Classroom to Organization: Innovations in Nordic Welfare

Together with Hanken School of Economics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and the GODESS Institute [Gender, Organization, Diversity, Equality and Social Sustainability], we will explore norm-critical methods for gender equality in classroom and organizations in the Nordic countries. The project brings together a diverse set of stakeholders in three Nordic countries to participate in an exploratory co-creative workshop combining three interrelated topics:

1. gender-influenced educational choices by young people
2. problems due to norms of masculinity in leadership
3. gendered organizational norms.

The workshops will be open to business and academic leaders, educators, managers, students, volunteers, NGOs, educational institutions, and youth/student organisations, allowing them to discuss the topics in one shared forum as well as co-create solutions to these issues. Using the workshops as data, the research team will analyse the insights to synthesise outcomes, such as policies, action strategies, and methods for addressing such organizational challenges in a Nordic context, which will be tested in educational and organizational contexts and disseminated at CBS in fall 2019.

Carried out in cooperation between 3 Nordic business schools/universities, added value will be:

• Generating comparative data that portrays differences and similarities in the Nordic countries in regard to gender equality. This makes it possible to share effective best practices as well as develop and disseminate shared solutions, contributing to Nordic competence and competitiveness in providing norm-critical and inclusive study and work environments.
• A unique and diverse set of participants who generate a critical focus on how opportunity is often gendered: in the classroom, in organisations, and in leadership. This facilitates a Nordic community of students, teachers, colleagues & leaders, actively creating more equal opportunities now.
• Long-term positive impact due to an action and solution focus. This ensures that activities will be carried out after the project ends, creating significant lasting effects in all three Nordic countries.

The project is part of nine projects granted funding from the Nordic Gender Equality Fund in 2018. The Nordic Gender Equality Fund was launched by the Nordic gender equality ministers to stimulate research, initiatives and collaborations in the field of gender equality.