All academic environments have certain codes for creating a sense of community, but this can also lead to groups being left out. 

Mechanisms for inclusion/exclusion are flexible. For example, people may feel a sense of belonging within a research group but not at the department in general. This can involve formal diversity categories such as nationality and gender, but also factors like language preference, academic expertise, or age.

In our research on Norwegian academia, language use has emerged as a theme that many people perceive as important. This is also a focus area that can be observed in a critical manner. Since this is a broad theme, we have divided it into several sub-themes. 

Language use as the tone of interaction in the workplace

The kinds of language use that are permitted and encouraged, and where the boundaries lie in terms of humour and tone of interaction, are part of the social norms of a working environment. Because many aspects of diversity are invisible, it is important to be mindful of what is joked about. People may strategically downplay aspects of their identity, such as concealing their sexual or gender identity out of fear of how colleagues might react (Boustani & Taylor, 2020). This issue likely applies to other diversity groups as well and can suppress diversity and contribute to an unsafe working environment. 

Permanent staff and individuals with both formal and informal power (such as supervisors or mentors) should be particularly aware of their role as role models for younger employees. Do they speak in ways that could influence new or younger employees in the workplace, potentially contributing to an unhealthy or negative work culture? 

All segments of the population reflect certain types of diversity, whether related to age, gender, ethnicity, dialect, life stage, or research interests. Therefore, all academic communities, regardless of size, benefit from fostering a working environment that focuses on respect, equality and inclusion.

Diversity language

The KARMA approach is based on the idea that we should speak a ‘common’ language when it comes to diversity. It is not always clear what is meant when people talk about ‘diversity’. Do they mean ethnic diversity, inclusion, gender, or something else? The situation regarding which types of diversity exist will also vary greatly across different units. Therefore, it may be a good idea to make use of some of the tools on this website to carry out mapping. Does everyone speak the same diversity language? 

Diversity is about supporting all employees in the best possible way. This also requires understanding the challenges and experiences of employees. Harnessing the benefits of diversity largely depends on good communication. One should not be afraid to talk about equality and diversity – there should be a low threshold and a safe environment for raising these topics in the workplace. Openness to discussing what works well and what does not work so well will help employees feel comfortable raising topics that may be difficult to talk about. 

Use of English and Norwegian

There has been a great deal of debate in recent years about use of English in Norwegian academia. Most people in academic positions often have to use English in connection with research activities such as publishing and participating in research conferences. At the same time, Norwegian academia has focused on international recruitment for several decades, which means that English is often the lingua franca in everyday work.  This does not happen without challenges. There are many international researchers who experience a language barrier due to a lack of Norwegian language proficiency (Maximova-Mentzoni et al., 2016). At the same time, research from NTNU shows that Norwegian is still the institutional language used in administration, channels for university democracy, and several committees and leadership forums. (Flikke & Sørensen, 2024). 

Language practices are often local and varied. We therefore recommend observing the local situation and focusing on topics such as:

• What are the different language groups in your academic community?
• What is the dominant language in different forums? (such as departmental meetings, centre meetings, around the coffee machine, etc.) 
• Is there a dominant language group? If so, are steps being taken to include other language preferences?
• Can language use be a barrier to participation in different groups? If so, what might the consequences of this be?
• Does language proficiency affect the distribution of tasks such as teaching and administrative duties?
•  What kind of language culture do you want to have in the workplace, and how can you work towards achieving this?