PhD Research Fellowship in Social Psychology

About the position

Inland School of Business and Social Sciences, The PhD programme Innovation in Services in the Public and Private Sectors (INSEPP), invites candidates to apply for a four-year PhD research fellowship, which includes 25% teaching duties. The candidate will contribute to innovation in the broad field of social psychology, focusing specifically on developing a new and culturally sensitive gender equality index (Gindex).

The purpose of the PhD Research Fellowship for the admitted candidate is to undergo a research training programme that leads to the successful completion of a doctoral degree. The candidate must apply to the PhD programme INSEPP and is expected to participate actively in INSEPP’s activities.

The candidate will be part of the Department of Psychology and the research group OASIS. In addition to INSEPP, these milieus represent valuable resources to the PhD studies.

Depending on the faculty`s needs, and the candidate`s competence and preferences, employment can be made for a three-year position without teaching.

The place of work for this position is the Lillehammer Campus.

Project Overview

Gender-equal representation in the labor market is an important topic worldwide and the goal of many national and international leaders. For example, Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF, 2020) asserted that “without the equal inclusion of half of the world’s talent, we will not be able to deliver on the promise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution” (p. 4). Gender inequality is thus a major global challenge that calls for social and political innovation to foster social progress, entrepreneurship, and sustainability (OECD, 2023).

Global gender equality indices, such as the GGGI, are frequently used by politicians and policymakers to compare gender equality between countries as well as over time within countries. However, existing gender equality indices suffer from several shortcomings and are thus far from ideal tools for use in the tracking of progress (or lack thereof). Firstly, existing gender equality indices focus solely on women’s disadvantages relative to men. For example, the GGGI gives countries a maximum score of 1 in domains where women’s representation or outcomes equal or exceed those of men. As such, the GGGI does not reflect domains (for example longevity and education) where men are disadvantaged relative to women. Secondly, existing gender equality indices primarily consider vertical gender segregation, i.e., gender imbalances in labor market participation and political power. These imbalances reflect the extent to which women lack status and power relative to men. However, gender equality indices fail to consider horizontal gender segregation, i.e., the clustering of working women and men into different gender-typed occupations and industries within the labor market. Importantly, vertical and horizontal gender segregation do not necessarily covary, and they may have notably different implications and outcomes. Norway, for example, usually ranks quite high in global gender equality indices (indicating low levels of vertical gender segregation). At the same time, Norway has a more gender segregated labor market relative to many other European countries (indicating high levels of horizontal gender segregation). For example, Norwegian women are vastly underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM; Eurostat, 2018). This is troubling, as these fields have abundant opportunities for innovation and growth that could benefit from more diversity. Furthermore, due to the digitalization and automatization of the workforce, it is projected that a third of (Norwegian) occupations will require STEM competence in the future (NHO, 2018). It is therefore crucial to develop a new tool to track gender (in)equality – one that considers both genders and vertical as well as horizontal gender segregation.

This project seeks to challenge some established notions on the degree of gender equality in some cultural contexts, and in doing so inform political decision-making and policy change. This project will result in the development of a new gender equality index (Gindex), which has the potential to generate new theoretical knowledge and become a catalyst for social change at different political levels (international, national, regional). The Gindex project draws on interdisciplinary literature from social psychology, cross-cultural psychology, public policy, sociology, and labour market research. The PhD candidate will be a part of an international team of psychological researchers. Quantitative research methods will be employed in the project.

INSEPP has one position available. We are seeking a candidate for a project entitled: Towards a new a culturally sensitive understanding of gender inequality: women and men in modern work life.

The PhD candidate is expected to discuss innovation aspects and address one or more of the following research questions in their project proposal:

1. How can gender (in)equality be conceptualized?
2. What are the limitations of existing gender inequality indices?
3. How can gender (in)equality be operationalized?
4. Is the newly developed inequality index (Gindex) a valid and reliable measure of gender equality?
5. How can this new understanding of gender inequality be used to test and develop psychological theories?
6. How can this new understanding of gender inequality be used to inform diversity policies in private and public organizations?

We are looking for candidates that are highly motivated for gender research in the field of social psychology. Interested candidates may contact the supervisor Dr. Maria Olsson (e: maria.olsson@inn.no) for more information about the project.

Qualifications and personal skills

• The person to be appointed must have a bachelor and/or master’s degree in psychology, sociology, educational studies or gender studies.
• The master’s degree must be composed of 120 ECTS (or equivalent research experience), including a master's thesis of at least 30 ECTS cf. the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education’s (NOKUT) requirements for admission to PhD education at Norwegian universities and INN’s PhD regulation.
• The grade of the master’s thesis must be B or better.
  • Candidates must have submitted their master’s thesis and received a grade of B or better by the application deadline.
  • Temporary transcripts of records and the master thesis must be included as part of the application.
  • The final diploma for the master’s degree must be available by the time of employment.
• Applicants with a master’s degree from a university abroad must attach “Recognition of foreign higher education” from Directorate of Higher Education and Skills (HK-Dir). Instructions on how to get this master’s degree assessed and approved are given on NOKUT`s website, cf. https://hkdir.no/en/foreign-education
• Competence with relevant ICT applications in the PhD program is a requirement.
• Experience with quantitative research methods and statistical software programs such as SPSS, Mplus, Stata, or R is a requirement.
• Language proficiency: Excellent oral and written English is required. In addition, candidates with a command of a Nordic or Scandinavian language will be viewed favorably.

For information on PhD position in general, see Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, research fellow, research assistant and specialist candidate.

Evaluation of candidates for the position will be based on a total assessment of educational background, experience and personal suitability, as well as motivation and other eligibility requirements, as defined in the advertisement. In addition, the following will be emphasized: the scientific merit of the project description and research experience relevant to the project.

The position and associated tasks must be carried out in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations for government employees, including also the Act on Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology, etc. Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, come into conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to take up the position at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. Necessary approvals must be maintained throughout the employment relationship.

How to apply

Relevant applications will be considered by an expert committee. The application and all attachments are to be submitted electronically and should include the following:

• Project proposal with a progress plan (in Norwegian or English, 5-7 pages) that explains how the research work will be carried out. The project proposal must build on (one or more of) the research questions specified above. The project proposal plays an important part in evaluating applicants and must show how the project will lead to a successful completion of a doctoral degree within four years. Note that the successful PhD applicant hired will, in collaboration with a supervisor, prepare a complete project proposal creating the basis for admission to the PhD program.
• Application letter
• CV (summarizing education, job positions, and academic work)
• Documentation of relevant research experience and experience with quantitative research methods.
• Certified copies of (temporary) transcripts of records and diplomas for the whole bachelor’s and master’s degree. An English translation of all education documents is required unless the documents are in Norwegian/Scandinavian.
• Names and contact information of at least 2 reference persons.
• A copy of the master thesis (in PDF)

Attachments must be uploaded as separate files. If the attachments exceed 30 MB, they must be compressed prior to upload. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all attachments are uploaded. Documents submitted after expiry of the deadline will not be considered in the evaluation of your application.

We offer

• An academically stimulating and supportive work environment at a developing institution. Possibility of professional development in an exciting academic research environment.
• Position is paid and placed in position code 1017, PhD candidate in the Government Salary Scale
• Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension, with among other things, good pension and insurance schemes.

For more information about INN University as an employer, please see here.

General information

HINN believes that there is strength in inclusion and diversity. We desire employees with different competencies, professional combinations, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to an even better way of solving problems. We will facilitate for employees who need assitance to realise their goals. Relevant adaptations can be, for example, technical aids, adapting furniture or adjusting routines, work tasks and working hours.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, gaps in the CV or immigrant background, we shall call at least one applicant in each of these categories for an interview. In order to be considered as an applicant in these groups, the applicants must meet certain requirements. You can read more on this here: https://arbeidsgiver.difi.no/positivsaerbehandling.

We encourage applicants to tick in Jobbnorge if they have a disability, a gap in their CV or immigrant background. The ticks in the jobseeker portal form the basis for anonymised statistics that all state-owned enterprises report in their annual reports

Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.