The NULES administartuin have overall responsibility for the work with equal opportunities. The dean and faculty administration must ensure that equal opportunities work is conducted at their faculty. This work must include planning, implementation and follow-up in both day-to-day activities and strategic planning. The faculty’s heads of department/equivalent are responsible for managing and integrating equal opportunities issues into their activities. They must also demonstrate the importance of this area through their words and actions. The annual follow-up and documentation must include information about how the measures have been implemented.

All NULES staff and students must play their part in achieving a healthy work and study environment from an equal opportunities perspective.

4.1 Support functions

The following functions are tasked with supporting the faculty’s organisations:

Faculty-wide level: The equal opportunities committee is tasked with supporting faculty management in the work with active measures.

The faculty office: The equal opportunities officer is tasked with supporting faculty management and the departments/equivalent in the work with active measures.

Division of Human Resources: The local HR officer is tasked with supporting managers and coordination groups with systematic work environment management.

Local level: department/equivalent coordination group for systematic work environment management, safety and equal opportunities supports heads of department/equivalent in the work to implement active measures at the department/equivalent.

5. Ongoing assignments for the faculties

NULES action plan for equal opportunities tasks faculties with the following:

·    The faculties must investigate whether there is a risk of discrimination or other obstacles that prevent the students and employees benefitting from equal rights and opportunities throughout the organisation. This is documented annually.

·    Gender distribution objectives for newly employed research and teaching staff must be set annually by the respective faculty.

·    To the greatest extent possible, teaching timetables are to be established with consideration to students with parental responsibilities.

·    Teaching and examination forms must be adapted to increase accessibility for students with disabilities, while maintaining quality and be based on the intended learning outcomes.

·    Teachers and other staff within the faculty know where to find the procedures that are to be followed if discrimination or harassment is suspected.

·    Inform work placement hosts and external supervisors of the

Discrimination Act and the fact that it also applies to work placements.

·    Formulate measures on the basis of the results of student welfare surveys.

   6. Objectives/action plan for Agrobiological faculty 2022

 6.1 Basic and recurring activities:

Comprehensive perspective

a) The faculty and its departments/equivalents conduct annual follow-ups (of investigations, analysis, measures) that are documented in accordance with the active measures in the Discrimination Act.

- Heads of department/equivalent and management groups are offered annual meetings with the equal opportunities officer to exchange information and review the department/equivalent’s work and conditions. Questions addressed include: What is already being done? What needs to be done? How do we implement active measures at a local level? How do we promote a culture/climate where staff can speak out about risks to equal opportunities they see, and how can we do this practically?

- Management groups and local coordination groups can use the

SFAD game.3

- Heads of department/equivalent are offered activities for the department’s staff, as well as workshops about norms/values and interaction. Preferably including interactive components for discussion and joint reflection.

3SFAD, systematic preventive work with discrimination, or the equal opportunities game are methods for investigating risks and obstacles. Contact the equal opportunities administrative officer or local HR officer to use the game.

- Work environment issues and equal opportunities are discussed during staff development reviews.

- Both the NULES and faculty equal opportunities action plans must be a natural component of everyday activities and be adapted to each organisation. Heads of department/equivalent must review this at department/equivalent level and make equal opportunities a permanent item on the agenda for local coordination groups and management groups.

Responsible: heads of department/equivalent

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer and HR officer

b) Use the staff survey, doctoral student survey and student welfare survey in the work with active measures.

Responsible: Dean, vice-dean equal opportunities, heads of department/equivalent

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer and HR officer

c) Faculty and departments/equivalent equal opportunities work based on the

faculty’s action plan is followed up and evaluated, as well as compiled in a report.

- Establish procedures for an annual compilation of activities at the faculty and departments/equivalent.

Responsible party: Vice-dean, Equal opportunities

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer

d) Ensure that the faculty’s departments/equivalent are given the support they need

for work with active measures.

- Establish routines for annual check-ups that preferably are included in the procedures for follow-up and evaluation of the faculty’s action plan, see point (c) above.

Responsible party: Dean, head of faculty administration

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer

 Employer perspective

e) Provide staff with information about the content of the Discrimination Act and the university’s equal opportunities work; emphasise the zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and other forms of victimisation.

- Equal opportunities are an integrated element of introductions for new employees.

- All faculty staff must take equal opportunities into consideration when they work. They must also know where to find the procedures that apply for suspected harassment or sexual harassment and information about local contacts.

- Make it easier for staff to speak out about risks linked to equal opportunities that they have noted at the organisation4.

Responsible party: Heads of department/equivalent

Support functions: Equal opportunities administrative officer and HR officer

The education provider perspective

f) Provide students with information about the content of the Discrimination Act and the university’s equal opportunities work; emphasise the zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and other forms of victimisation.

- Establish a checklist to give course coordinators and teachers the information they need to distribute, such as notifying students about where to find the procedures that apply for suspected harassment or sexual harassment and information about local contacts.

- Plan and conduct lectures on equal opportunities for new students; the rights, responsibilities and duties based on the Discrimination Act and the Act’s link to norms and awareness of norms, as well as NULES procedures.

Responsible party: Heads of department/equivalent, programme directors of studies

Support functions: Equal opportunities administrative officer

g) Offer lectures and workshops to students about norms/values and interaction with others, preferably including interactive components for discussion and joint reflection.

Responsible party: Vice-dean equal opportunities, programme directors of studies

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer

 4 Harassment and victimisation may be difficult to notice as a result of under-reporting (those exposed don’t submit a complaint) and normalisation (if certain type of “banter” becomesstandard).

6.2 Measures for the current planning period

Comprehensive perspective

h) Local coordination groups implement, as far as possible, the university-wide systematic work environment management training and active measures based on the Discrimination Act.5

Responsible party: Heads of department/equivalent

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer and HR officer

i) Begin the work to establish focus group models for students, doctoral students and staff.

Responsible party: Vice-dean, Equal opportunities

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer together with other university-wide support functions

j) Equal opportunities are an integrated element of the introduction of new doctoral students; establishing the conditions for how to carry out this work during the current planning period.

Responsible party: Vice-dean, R&D, vice-dean equal opportunities

k) Follow up the results of the doctoral student survey,

- Work together with the doctoral student ombudsman and PhD

student council to arrange a workshop for doctoral students.

Responsible party: Vice-dean, Equal opportunities

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer

l) Increase collaboration with the Agrobiological Faculty PhD student council and doctoral student ombudsman on matters of equal opportunities.

Responsible party: Vice-dean, Equal opportunities

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer

m) Initiate creation of a compulsory equal opportunities online training course (using Canvas) for the faculty’s heads of department, course coordinators and supervisors, similar to the one offered by S Faculty.

Responsible party: Dean, vice-dean Equal opportunities

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer together with university-wide support functions.

 6 The training will be available during 2022.

n) Improve the equal opportunities front page on the faculty website to make it easier for staff to find all information about gender equality and equal opportunities at the faculty.

Responsible party: Vice-dean, Equal opportunities

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer, supported by the

Division of Communication

Employer perspective

o) Continue to ensure that recruitment and skills provision is objective and that there is a continual awareness of discrimination and bias throughout the recruitment process.

- Conduct a review of recruitment procedures for higher academic positions by listing procedures and work methods from an equal opportunities perspective.

- Establish a checklist for how the quality of the preparatory process can be assured from an equal opportunities perspective.

Responsible party: Dean, head of faculty administration

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer, faculty administrative officer, HR officer

The education provider perspective

p) Increase collaboration for equal opportunities work with the Stakeholders

Responsible party: Vice-dean, equal opportunities

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer

q) Continuing professional development opportunity focusing on equal opportunities, adapted based on needs, for first-cycle and second-cycle level teaching staff. This opportunity will be available each semester and is a collaboration with the Unit for Educational Development.

Responsible party: Vice-dean, equal opportunities

Support function: Equal opportunities administrative officer, Unit for Educational

Development

r) Explore the possibility for introducing a forum similar to the ethics workshop for students, which allows for regular reflection on matters of equal opportunities taking students as a starting point for matters of equal opportunities.