One KTH for everyone – equal conditions for all students and employees

A modern KTH

A modern KTH educates engineers with a gender equal, global perspective to work for the societies of today and tomorrow. Around 30% of current KTH students and doctoral students are women. The internationalisation of universities and university colleges has occurred very rapidly in Sweden and KTH is one of the Swedish universities with most students of foreign origin. Around one hundred nationalities can be found on the various KTH campuses.

KTH is working to become a more gender equal university so efforts are underway to increase the underrepresented gender within all professional groups. Female role models are necessary for all educational programmes and positions in order to stimulate more women to apply to KTH courses, and then continue on to doctoral studies and an academic career.

The KTH Strategic Plan 2009-2012 entitled KTH in the service of humanity, for the society of tomorrow states that KTH regards diversity based on gender, ethnicity, cultural similarities and dissimilarities as a valuable resource for both the university and for technical development generally speaking. There are many ways of gaining benefit from the unique breadth of staff and students found at KTH today. GDE issues and GDE considerations in the everyday operations of a modern university are vital, current tools to use to fulfil the needs of both the individual and KTH as concerns an optimal study and workplace.

This Action Plan encompasses the various measures that KTH will focus on 2010-2012. The plan unambiguously states that both staff and students are, and will continue to be, participants in the work of integrating gender equality, diversity and equal opportunities into daily operations. Competence development concerning these issues will, consequently, be a major factor in future KTH GDE activities in order to support managers, teachers, all other employees and students.

KTH will also achieve the educational goals established for GDE issues and GDE integration. This Action Plan is intended as help to self-help in order to demonstrate that everyone at KTH can work together and strive to achieve this goal. GDE activities involve many issues that require fresh approaches as concerns management, recruitment, education, teaching and research.

We are now facing a stimulating period of change activities for us at KTH so that our university becomes a modern, gender-equal university and "One KTH for everyone".

Action Plan directly linked to the KTH Strategic Plan as quality assurance

This Action Plan is directly linked to the strategic goals in the KTH Strategic Plan for 2010-2012. The various projects and activities are primarily based on the Strategic Plan and have also been reviewed in relationship to the evaluation of KTH GDE activities for students and employees 2003-2009.

This plan, in combination with a basic GDE training input throughout the entire organisation, provides a guarantee that requirements concerning proper gender equality, diversity and equal opportunity operations have been fulfilled.

KTH has developed training material in order to support in-house competence development and the work of GDE integration that demonstrates how these issues belong in most areas within the university. The material is entitled KTH in the 2000s – Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunity.

Quality assurance of the content of this Action Plan plus division of responsibilities has been carried out in collaboration with the KTH Dean, Vice-Dean of Faculty, deputy presidents, University Director, HR Director, different departments, the KTH Gender Equality and Diversity Committee and others. The plan has been circulated widely throughout the organisation for comments and in order to strengthen participation and awareness of GDE issues and GDE responsibility. The Action Plan has also been considered in the Central KTH Union/Employer Group. The participation of the students is also vital for the development and implementation of GDE issues. This especially applies to issues concerning equal opportunities and achieving the goal of educating engineers who apply a gender-equal, global perspective in the society of today and the world of tomorrow.

• Recruitment - career support - parenthood
• Student recruitment - through flows - teaching
• Doctoral student recruiting - through flows - teaching
• In-house - external collaboration
• Salaries
• Discrimination - harassment
• Quality assurance

The broad implementation of GDE issues within KTH operations will occur through every individual following up these activities within the framework of their positions as head of school, middle manager, teacher, HR Officer, student counsellor, researcher etc. Also the various collaboration groups, committees, boards and other bodies carry their own responsibility to monitor and work with the issues described in this Action Plan.

Feedback and evaluation is to be carried out on a continuous basis during the implementation period to the Vice President for Faculty Development and Gender Equality, Faculty Board, the KTH Gender Equality and Diversity Committee and the Future Faculty Group (FF) etc.

In order to clarify the direct connection between the KTH Strategic Plan 2009-2012 and this Action Plan the Strategic Plan Action point numbers are also stated in brackets beside each point.
The follow-up of the KTH Strategic Plan also includes reporting GDE results for each measure. These results, in turn, will form the basis of the next three-year action plan for KTH GDE activities 2013-2015.

The KTH Strategic Plan: ”KTH values are based on democracy, the equal worth of every individual, human rights and a free and open discussion. Gender equality between women and men plus the repudiation of all forms of discrimination are regarded as issues of quality and as a selfevident element of the KTH value platform. Gender equality and diversity among employees and students also form an important resource for KTH”. (Introduction, KTH Value Platform)

Recruitment - career support - parenthood

GOAL:

- KTH will implement a "Tenure Track" system as support for career development/recruitment.
Responsibility: Vice President for Faculty Development and Gender Equality (59-62)
Reporting and feedback: FF
- During the recruitment of all employee categories, KTH will develop processes and quality assure expertise on gender aspects, especially in committees and boards that process applications.
Responsibility: University Director (83)
Reporting and feedback: Faculty Board and Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- When positions are advertised, nominations committees and appointments committees, whose members have completed gender equality training and whose composition is gender balanced, will propose candidates within the 40%-60% gender balance span (unless special circumstances prevent this).
Responsibility: University Director (83)
- Recruitment of teachers and researchers of the gender that is underrepresented will be encouraged by, among other measures, special advertisement of centrally-financed positions such as visiting professorships and assistant professorships.
Responsibility: Vice President for Faculty Development and Gender Equality (59-62)
-Women and men will be allocated assignments and other career-promotional activities in equal measure. One example could be proposed appointees to various assignments which may promote an academic career must, as far as possible, consist of one woman and one man for the final selection.
Responsibility: University Director (83)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
-Issues on gender and technical developments must be included in all training inputs on management and pedagogics.
Responsibility: University Director (84)
Reporting and feedback: FF
- In order to contribute to reversing gender labelling as concerns research and engineering education, both female and male role models must be listed in information provided for society.
Responsibility: Deputy President (9)
- KTH will audit the links between gender and actual working ¬situation for women and men in the KTH faculty.
Responsibility: University Director (84)
Reporting and feedback: FF
- Network meetings and mentor programmes for underrepresented groups are to be encouraged to continue and develop.
Responsibility: University Director (81)
- KTH must be sensitive to the needs of parents and offer flexibility in the work situation. A plan is to be established encompassing requested support measures during parental leave and also support in connection with return to work after parental leave.
Responsibility: University Director (81)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
-KTH will identify suitable forms for continued cooperation with professors emeritus after their 67th birthdays (retirement age).
Responsibility: HR Director (82)
-KTH will review all current GDE formulations in KTH job ads.
Responsibility: HR Director (82)

The KTHs Strategic Plan: KTH will implement a ”Tenure Track” system, i.e. a career path to professor, on the pattern of those used at leading international universities from 1 January 2010. The emphasis on recruitment of new faculty to be at Assistant Professor level.

Student recruitment - through flows - teaching

GOAL:

- KTH is to play a leading role in national campaigns aimed at changing the stereotypical picture of engineers and technology.
Responsibility: Deputy President (12)
- New activities to be started up that strengthen student recruitment of women at all educational levels.
Responsibility: Deputy President (9)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- Throughout this period, KTH will further develop cooperation with high schools/upper secondary schools nationally in order to broaden the student recruitment base.
Responsibility: Deputy President (13)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- Fewer, broader entrance points to studies at KTH will encourage more female and male applicants.
Responsibility: Vice-Dean (18)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- Academic introduction to be integrated into all educational programmes at first level in order to support KTH activities with broadened recruitment.
Responsibility: Vice-Dean (19)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- A mentor system for new students will be developed which will benefit all students also according to gender, linguistic background.
Responsibility: Vice-Dean (19)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- A development project will review alternative teaching methods and examinations linked to KTH pedagogical development and GDE issues.
Responsibility: Vice-Dean (16)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- All educational programmes at KTH will include preparations for students' future professional roles through measures such as career advice, more practical elements in the educational programmes and training in entrepreneurial competence. These activities are also apart of KTH efforts to broaden its recruitment base.
Responsibility: Vice-Dean (25,26,27)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- In current, first level educational programmes, issues such as language policy for Swedish-English, a language forum for students and teachers and strengthening of written and spoken communications in Swedish and English will facilitate the internationalisation of KTH and its diversity activities.
Responsibility: Dean (23,78)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee

KTHs Strategic Plan: Efforts to recruit students of the underrepresented gender plus broader, extended diversity must be reflected in the expertise and understanding of the teachers and management as concerns gender equality and diversity issues.

- Students with foreign backgrounds are to be used as a diversity resource in teaching/education in light of their global and multi-cultural social perspectives on engineering/technical developments in course and degree projects etc.
Responsibility: Vice-Dean (24)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- KTH will work to ensure that all students are offered living accommodation – a measure which will also strengthen efforts to broaden the KTH recruitment base.
Responsibility: University Director (80)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- The "between-year" survey of students is to be developed including more detailed questions on discrimination and harassment or special treatment. The content to be disseminated more generally as an important follow-up instrument.
Responsibility: Dean (67)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
The Career Report/ KTH's labour market follow up is to be implemented every two years. Gender and diversity factors will also be included. These studies are carried out in order to follow graduated engineers' paths out into their professional lives and to recognise signals concerning the support they received during their study period that has worked well and what they may have felt was lacking. The links between work/professional career and gender/ethnicity will also be studied.
Responsibility: Dean (67)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee

Doctoral studies recruitment - through flows - teaching

GOAL:

- KTH develops research and new technology in a global perspective and is to include gender equality and diversity as natural, essential resources in these efforts.
Responsibility: Vice-President with Responsibility for Research Structure and Content (2)
-KTH is to work to achieve a proper gender balance among teachers at first and second levels.
Responsibility: Dean (36)
Reporting and feedback: FF
- Forms of doctoral student positions and doctoral student recruitment will be reviewed in order to strengthen a broader recruitment based as concerns gender, diversity and skewed social recruitment.
Responsibility: Vice-Dean (29)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee, FF
- In the academic year 2009/2010, all current courses will be available on the KTH website which will facilitate for possible doctoral students to select their specialisation and strengthen a broader recruitment base.
Responsibility: Dean (30)
- Educational activities at doctoral level are to be organised into programmes that strengthen a broader recruitment base and increase through flows.
Responsibility: Vice-Dean (29)
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KTHs Strategic Plan: The basic rule is that all teachers, of both genders, are to participate in both research and education. Teaching is to share the high status level enjoyed by research.

- A course in pedagogical management for doctoral students is to be developed. This course is to integrate GDE issues.
Responsibility: Vice-Dean (32)
Reporting and feedback: FF
- A seminar series is to be held on how doctoral students/researchers of both genders can participate in the public debate and communicate their research.
Responsibility: Vice-Dean (33)
Reporting and feedback: FF
- A new doctoral student survey is to be compiled during this period that will reflect improvements implemented and any remaining needs for improvement concerning gender equality in comparison to the previous survey in 2007.
Responsibility: Dean (67)

In-house and external collaboration

GOAL:

- Regular workplace meetings between managers and employees will offer mutual exchange of information and increase participation. Equal opportunities at these meetings will promote GDE development.
Responsibility: HR Director (82)
- Alumni activities will integrate GDE issues and their various events will be attractive to both women and men.
Responsibility: Head of KTH Business Liaison (51)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- KTH is to build up an "Industrial Faculty" that consists of women and men via various types of adjunct and affiliate positions in order to strengthen personal connections between KTH and business/industry, public actors and research institutes.
Responsibility: Head of KTH Business Liaison (54)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
- KTH will develop a market-oriented support system for the commercialisation of research and new technology linked to gender equality and diversity.
Responsibility: Head of KTH Business Liaison (55)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee

Salaries

- The work of salary mapping and analysis based on gender to be further developed on an annual basis for KTH overall and for each school.
Responsibility: HR Director (82)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
-Every three years KTH will carry out a salary survey and analysis of the entire organisation and then develop an Action Plan for the correction of any unmotivated salary differences based on gender in accordance with the Discrimination Act.
Responsibility: HR Director (82)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee

KTHs Strategic Plan: KTH will be a gender equal university characterised by diversity, creativity and transparency. A more modern, more gender equal and, in different ways, varied KTH is of great importance as KTH becomes more visible and interacts with its surroundings.

Discrimination and harassment

GOAL:

-All employees and students are to be informed of the KTH Zero Tolerance against Discrimination and Harassment Policy as well as the measures that KTH and its schools must take when such a situation occurs.
Responsibility: HR Director (82)
-In cases of discrimination or harassment, the matter will be immediately reported for investigation and action. Specials instructions concerning the management of such cases can be found on the KTH website.
Responsibility: HR Director (82)

Quality assurance – GDE Plan, statistics, information material, competence development

GOAL:

- When reviewing the President's Contact provisions/indicator report, efforts will be made to link more indicators to the gender equality factor.
Responsibility: Dean (67)
Reporting and feedback: FF
- All statistics concerning both employees and students plus the results of various evaluations must be gender disaggregated and will be disseminated for use as operational support.
Responsibility: University Director (77)
- The GDE Information on the KTH website, schools' websites and on the student website will be strengthened.
Responsibility: University Director (77)
- All policies, information material, protocols of more general application are to be available in both Swedish and English.
Responsibility: University Director (77)

- Competence development in the GDE field will be carried out using extensive training inputs. Training to encompass all target groups i.e. management, teachers, all other employees and students.
Responsibility: University Director (77)
Reporting and feedback: FF, Gender Equality and Diversity Committee
-The schools are tasked to integrate GDE issues into their annual and long-term operations. This work is to be entered into the various parts of their operational plans. Each school's individual GDE Plan will be used to support this activity.
Responsibility: University Director (77)
- Every three years KTH will establish an Action Plan for KTH Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunity Activities for students and employees.
Responsibility: University Director (77)
Reporting and feedback: Gender Equality and Diversity Committee

KTHs Strategic Plan linked to GDE integration: Efforts to achieve a better gender balance must be long-term and reflected in all operations.
The majority of gender equality activities will be aimed across the organisation on a broad front in order to change current norms and working methods.
Management and educational tasks include the management of issues concerning gender equality and diversity.
Both women and men must be clearly visible early on in the course of their education. At KTH teaching is to share the high status level enjoyed by research. In educational programmes, the social perspective applied is to be global. (Summarised extract)