International Women's Day – take up space, get involved, influence the university!

Sweden's first female student union President was Ruth Sävhagen, who became the President of the Stockholm University Student Union (SUS) in 1955. Ruth was elected 72 years after the first male President of SUS was elected. After Ruth Sävhagen, another 20 women have been Presidents of SUS, a modest number. The lack of representation of women in the SUS presidency sends a signal of inequality within the academia.

For a long time, men dominated as students at the universites, but since the 1970s, women have been in the majority in higher education. According to the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ), women made up 61% of registered students in Sweden year 2023. The fact that there have been more women than men studying in the past 50 years is not reflected in the statistics of the Presidents of the student union. Women dominate undergraduate education, but the further you go in academia, the fewer women there are. Among professors in Sweden, only 33% are women.

Another lack of gender equality is found in the disciplinary committee. According to UKÄ, women and men are assessed differently and women tend to receive disciplinary measures more often than men on the reports that have been made. It is therefore more risky to end up on the disciplinary committee as a woman. In the event of a suspension, the student risks losing CSN and their student accommodation as these are linked to one's studies.

A third aspect of gender inequality within academia is sexual harassment. It is mainly young women who study and female PhD students who experience sexual harassment in the higher education level. The problem exists both within academia but also in direct connection with student life. In 2019, the SUS Representative Assembly decided that work against sexual harassment would be prioritized, which partly resulted in all major student associations and student unions at SU developing common guidelines for handling sexual harassment. This has made it easier for students to know where to turn if they are subjected to it in student life.

March 8 is International Women's Day and despite more women entering academia, there is still a need for increased work on gender equality and equality within the university. Ruth Sävhagen went on to become the President of the Stockholm Student Union (SSCO), to defend her thesis in Genetics and then to become the President of the Uppsala University, the department of Education. Today, she has a group room named after her in Studenthuset. SUS wants to highlight the importance of, just like Ruth Sävhagen, taking space and participating in the continued work for a gender-equal university, not least in the upcoming student union elections.

Take up space, apply for a position of trust, run in the election. Through your commitment, you can actively participate in making the university a better place - for everyone.

Omslagsfoto: Lidingösidan/Jan Sjöberg