What is equality and diversity?

Equality encompasses equal status, equal opportunities and equal rights. The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of “gender, pregnancy, leave in connection with childbirth or adoption, care responsibilities, ethnicity, religion, belief, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age or other significant characteristics of a person”. (lovdata.no). 

According to the Act, universities and university colleges are also required to work actively for equality and to prevent discrimination. In practice, this means adaptation and ensuring accessibility for all. 

In addition to the formal grounds of discrimination, diversity in academia also includes topics such as diversity of perspectives or epistemic diversity; differences between disciplines/subject areas, various ways of conducting research, knowledge policies (such as what is considered good research and teaching), and how such differences are managed.  

KARMA has a particular focus on power dynamics as a basis for equality and anti-discrimination work. Despite strong ideals of emphasising merit in academia, we know that there will be both written and unwritten rules for behaviour and what is valued. In all academic communities, formal and informal power differences play an important role: Some people set the agenda, while others are expected to adapt. Stereotypical expectations can also affect the opportunities and barriers people encounter in their careers.  

Active work that promotes both diversity and equality is not just about counting who sits around the table and preventing illegal discrimination, but also about seeing who speaks, who is listened to, and who is recognised, so that everyone effectively has equal opportunities to succeed.

Why?

All workplaces have a certain degree of diversity, whether it is easy to spot or not. Affiliation with different social categories provides different opportunities in academia. Often, on an individual level, one will work to cover up differences related to unequal power and opportunity (see, for example, Boustani and Taylor 2020 and Yerbury and Yerbury 2021). It is therefore important to work for equality and diversity at a collective level.

Many people associate equality with gender and diversity in academia, especially with international researchers. All academic communities will have a certain degree of diversity, regardless of nationality and gender balance.

Among all employee groups, there will be variation in social background, regional affiliation, age, sexual orientation, personality, language proficiency, academic interests, socioeconomic class, and level of functioning. Factors such as social/economic class, academic interests, language proficiency, age, and level of functioning may also change over time for individuals. Therefore, work against stereotypes and for equality potentially benefits everyone.

In academic communities where discrimination and harassment occur on a regular basis, this negatively affects the satisfaction of everyone in the community, not just those who are directly impacted (Silverschanz, Cortina, Konik, & Magley, 2008).

It should therefore be a goal of equality and diversity work to create a working environment in which people do not feel that they must or should hide parts of their identity for fear of negative attention or missing out on career opportunities. 

This work is not just altruistic: Research shows that investing in diversity and inclusion pays off, for example through adaptations for disabilities, life stage challenges, or religious practices (El Boghdady, 2025). Internationally diverse workplaces report higher employee productivity (Mamiseishvili & Rosser, 2010; Corley & Sabharwal, 2007, Lauring & Selmer, 2010). Studies on working life in Norway show that there is a connection between ethnic diversity, productivity, innovation and financial profitability. (Umblijs, Orupabo & Drange, 2022). 

How to work with diversity?

One challenge many people report with diversity work is that it can be difficult to know where to start, and there is no clear finish line where one can consider it complete. Research shows, however, that focusing on diversity, acknowledging that it is complex, but still striving to work towards it, has value in itself (Risberg & Corvellec, 2022). 

Based on research (see the sections What and Why), we recommend viewing diversity, equality, inclusion and anti-discrimination as part of the work to create a good working environment for everyone. 

There are many resources that can be used to make the work easier. For cases of discrimination, harassment, and adverse incidents, there are formal whistleblowing channels and institutionalised arrangements such as local safety representatives, trade union representatives, and the university’s reporting/whistleblowing system. In addition to legal and formal requirements, diversity work largely involves cultural change and awareness-raising. 

Permanent staff and leaders have a particular responsibility in their capacity as role models in the work culture, and to address small issues before they develop into a negative culture that in turn affects new employees and PhD research fellows. This also applies to leaders without HR/staff responsibility but who have the power to influence the work culture. Research shows that local leaders and the creation of a sense of local responsibility and ownership are very important for projects to succeed (Dobbin & Kalev, 2022).

In academic working environments, these types of role models might include project managers, permanent academic staff, academic supervisors and research group leaders. 

When implementing measures, it is useful to draw on both research-based knowledge and insights gained from mapping the situation in one’s own environment/community. Measures that are implemented to promote diversity and inclusion often work best when they are based on the local context or situation, as there is great variation in size, history, identity, composition of the staff group, local culture and social norms.

Action plans should aim to address problems that have been identified locally. 

That is why we have developed the KARMA tools as a way to lower the threshold and begin mapping and exploring the local situation. This website can be used by everyone: HR workers, PhD research fellows, department heads, professors and others who want to work more on diversity and inclusion in their workplace. 

A bibliography and an overview of external key resources can be found here. 

About the KARMA tools

It is difficult for employers to map diversity, as they are not permitted to collect personal information about employees’ ethnicity, sexual orientation, or functional level. Many of the challenges people experience around belonging, inclusion/exclusion and recognition/appreciation in the workplace can also be found across different identity categories; they are interconnected, intersect and influence each other – depending on factors such as age, experience, professional background, personality and interests.

For example, women in academia may have different experiences depending on whether they are Norwegian or have an international background, whether they are temporary or permanent employees, and which academic community they belong to. 

The mapping that takes place in KARMA therefore goes beyond numbers and the listing of social/legal categories.  The tools provide insight into how people experience inclusion and power dynamics in the workplace across different personal categories.

Most of the methods are based on group discussions. Experience from various research projects shows that bringing people together to share experiences has intrinsic value, in addition to being useful for leaders to map the diversity of the employee group. The mapping can be done by having participants, during different parts of the process, write down what they discuss in addition to the final outcome. 

This will help provide insight into the situation in your specific academic community.  The tools can be used either alone or together.

We suggest 4 different ways this can be done.