Gudbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir

Predictors of Gender Inequalities in the Rank of Full Professor

This article examines whether age, work-related, and family-related predictors explain differences in the academic advancement of women and men in Iceland. Survey data were analyzed by binary logistic regression. The findings put that women climb the academic career ladder at a slower pace than men. This finding puts one of the widely known excuses for the underrepresentation of women in full professor positions into jeopardy, namely that this is because of family responsibilities. Work-related variables explain some of the gender differences. The study shows that as promotion is slower among women, even if family-related variables are not negatively affecting the odds, the academic pipeline is leaking despite Icelands reputation for being at the forefront where gender equality issues are concerned.

Lay off: The experience of women and men in Iceland's financial sector

OBJECTIVE To analyze gender differences in levels of psychological distress, financial strain, lay off experiences and job search activity among unemployed and re-employed individuals who were laid-off due to the collapse of the financial sector in Iceland in 2008. PARTICIPANTS The study is based on questionnaires distributed to 759 former financial sector employees; 426 responses were received giving a 62.6% response rate. METHODS The groups of unemployed and re-employed woman and men are compared using separate multivariate binary models to control for mediating factors. RESULTS The analysis reveals gender differences in demographic factors and jobs held prior to lay-off. More women than men were psychologically or finically distressed and claimed being shocked by the lay-off. A higher proportion of men than women were re-employed at the time of this study. The main difference between those re-employed and unemployed was lower financial strain among those re-employed for both men and women in this sample. CONCLUSION The study does not support the traditional view of men having more difficulties in the lay-off process than women. This calls for a rethinking regarding gender in lay-off and unemployment. A gender-based analysis is needed when considering the ramifications of losing a job and job search activity in the lay-off process.

EPM Technology and the Psychosocial Work Environment

This paper examines the self‐measured psychosocial work environment among employees working in six Icelandic companies, having similar jobs. Some are surveilled by electronic performance monitoring (EPM) technology and some are not. We find that employees working under EPM technology reported a worse psychosocial work environment than their colleagues.

Working time arrangements and social consequences – What do we know?

New working time arrangement are becoming still more abundant partly due to globalization (the 24-hours global economy with around-the-clock communication and transport of gods and services) and increasing demands for productivity and quality both in private and public sectors. The new working time arrangements are associated both with company -based flexibility, referring to the needs of employers to modify, extend or reduce work hours according to production needs, and with individual flexibility that provides more influence over own work schedule for the employees but also contains the risk of over-commitment. I all Nordic countries an increasing public debate on stress, mental health problems and conflicts between work and private life have emerged during the last decade. To some extent the public debate seems to be governed more by beliefs than by knowledge and scientific evidence. The knowledge in this field is far from complete, but in some areas research has provided good knowledge, and several ongoing research projects will provide new and important knowledge the coming years. The present report - being the result of a Nordic expert group - provides an excellent review of the current international scientific knowledge with regard to direct social consequences (mental well-being, stress and work-life balance) of long and irregular working hours and employee influence on working hours. Furthermore, the labour market development in the Nordic countries is presented in relation to new working time arrangements. The report provides a well-structured insight in the social consequences of new working time arrangements. I am convinced that decision makers, working environment professionals, and researchers will gain a lot by reading the report. Monday, 24 September 2007 Otto Melchior Poulsen Research Director National Research Centre for the Working Environment

Explaining gender inequality in Iceland: what makes the difference?

This article examines the explanations offered by men and women, at different academic ranks, for the scarcity of women in full professorial positions in Icelandic universities. Data derive from interviews and a survey involving the total Icelandic academic population. We test three hypotheses: Firstly, academics will not see family responsibilities as explanation, secondly, women will more often refer to a male-dominated environment and men more often to the ‘pipeline’ metaphor. Thirdly, the views of full professor women will be comparable to that of academic men. We find that the impact of the national context is considerably less than that of the gendered academic organizational context. Men and women explain gender inequality within academia differently. Moreover, full professor women are less convinced by the male-dominated environment explanation than lower-ranked women. The article calls for the visibility of gendered patterns in order to make changes.

Changes in occupational mental and physical health and health symptoms during the economic recession

BACKGROUND In 2008, many Western countries faced a great economic recession, the result of which was increased unemployment and reduced public expenditure. OBJECTIVE This article focuses on changes in the self-reported mental and physical health and health symptoms of the remaining employees of Icelandic municipalities who worked within the educational system and the care service during the economic recession. We examine gender differences in health and differences between downsized workplaces and workplaces where no downsizing occurred and differences between workplaces with heavy workload and light workload. METHODS The study is based on a balanced panel online survey and focus groups. RESULTS The main finding is that both the mental and physical health of employees deteriorated year by year between 2010, 2011 and 2013 in all workplaces although the downsized workplaces and workplaces with heavy workloads fared worse. At the same time, public expenditure on the health care system was reduced. CONCLUSIONS We hope that our results encourage further studies in the field and that they will be taken into account when dealing with prevention and rehabilitation initiatives.

Addressing the Horizontal Gender Division of Labor: A Case Study of Support and Obstacles in a Heavy Industry Plant in Iceland

In the present article, we analyze a project in a heavy industry plant in Iceland in which the management aims to hire an equal number of women and men and, thereby, to work against the gender segregation of work. For their efforts, called the 50/50 strategy, the plant has received national and international awards. Observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted during five visits to the plant, including 85 interviews with 72 individuals, 49 women and 23 men. We found extensive support for the policy. The managers saw business opportunities in it, but although the employees supported the policy because it was seen as fair and modern, they doubted that achieving equal gender representation would be possible. The main emphasis so far has been on designing work organization and equipment, advertising the policy, presenting job opportunities to women outside the plant, and encouraging both genders to acquire the “right” education. Why the 50/50 target has not been reached lies partly in gender stereotypes outside the plant. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the next steps should be to challenge an alleged male working-culture within the plant. If they fail to do so, their efforts to eliminate horizontal gender segregation are unlikely to succeed and may even become counterproductive.