Equality is better in the church than in the academy, according to the newly appointed Archbishop Antje Jackelén.
– The discussion has been going on longer in the church. It’s about to illuminate _ your own history and confront the patriarchy.
[This text is an extract from the Research Council’s Journal Curie. Here you can read the full article (only available in Swedish): http://www.tidningencurie.se/22/nyheter/nyheter/2014-09-25-mer-jamstallt-i-kyrkan-an-i-akademin.html]
The church has long been known for their inequality. Not until 1960 the first women were ordained in Sweden. By then it had been nearly 70 years since Sweden got its first female professor 1884 (Sonja Kovalevska of mathematics at the then University of Stockholm).
– I have often said that it is easier to be a woman in the church than in academia.
Dual careers
Antje Jackelén has made a career both within the church and in the academy, as a scholar in theology. Her thesis concerned the border world between science and theology, and involves the concept of time.
– It is still possible to put together the conference program, panel discussions and anthologies with only men in the scientific community. And men tend to cite other men in their published articles.
She believes that it is about unawareness.
-My male fellow researchers have not actively discriminated against me, but I’ve still seen that they are bad at quoting women in research.