Women in Southern Europe wish they could live under a Nordic-style welfare state so they could improve their lives as women. But the financial crisis has made their dreams less realistic than ever. This is according to John Eriksen, a researcher at the Norwegian Social Research Institute and the co-editor of a new book on women’s lives in Europe.

Violence is neither a women’s problem nor a men’s problem. According to Professor Tove Ingebjørg Fjell at the University of Bergen, it is a human problem. She conducts research on men who are physically abused by their intimate partners.

According to researchers, gender differences in education and employment is one reason why it is so difficult to achieve the Norwegian Government’s target of 40 percent female business owners by 2013.

According to the science hierarchy, sociology has low status whereas mathematics has high status. Both this hierarchy and the peer-review process have characteristics that structurally downgrade women’s position in academia.

Minorities must be “sufficiently Norwegian” and “understand the Norwegian mindset” if they want to run for local political office. Not least, they need to show that they support gender equality. Are minority women judged differently than minority men? Yes, according to sociologist Beret Bråten.

In the 1800s, Norwegian missionaries had to strike a balance between Christian virtues and the new, modern man’s role. The solution was to be meek before God and mighty before men.

“Women are peace-loving.” “Women are problem-solvers.” “Women are more empathetic than men.” Arguments such as these are often used to advocate for women’s participation in military operations. This is a risky road to go down, according to researcher Kathleen Jennings.

Pupils in a lower secondary school in Norway are doing group work. In one classroom, a group of 14-year-olds sit quietly and concentrate, working earnestly on the assignment. In another classroom, the pupils play and fool around with lots of physical activity and very little focused effort. So you think it’s easy to figure out which group consists of boys? Not when it’s music class.

If we believe criminologist Thomas Ugelvik, Norwegian prisons are filled with freedom. Through relentless entrepreneurship the inmates are able to fool the system and reclaim their manhood.