Hanna Bäck has previously participated in the Swedish research council’s assessment group for political science, peace and conflict research, and media and communication studies for two years. She has realized that it is important to be aware that there are biases in how female and male scholars’ work is valued within academia.
– As chairman of the assessment group, I have the opportunity to highlight this type of problem when discussing research applications and to make everyone in the group aware that we are all unknowingly risking to underestimate the work of female researchers.
– We live in a society where men and women are still valued differently, and where gender stereotypes still play a major role - it is therefore crucial that we take into account possible gender bias when assessing the research of female and male scholars.