„ÁFRAM Í GEGNUM ÞENNAN BRIMSKAFL": GREINING Á TILKYNNINGUM REKTORS HÁSKÓLA ÍSLANDS Á TÍMUM COVID 19. (Icelandic)

Various studies point to the importance of guarding gender equality in times of Covid-19 as there is the risk of backlash (Al-Ali, 2020; Zarkov, 2020), both because the situation of subordinate groups tends to worsen and, in times of uncertainty, equal rights tend to be put aside. In this article we analyse the announcements sent out in the name of the Rector of the University of Iceland to students and staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. We ask what was the response of the University of Iceland to the Covid-19 pandemic? What messages were communicated to the UI staff of a university that presents itself as a leading university and how did these messages conform to UI policies regarding gender equality and family responsibilities? In order to answer this question, we analyse 96 announcements sent between February 2020 and May 2021, and consisted, after data cleaning, of around 34,000 words. We analyse the data from a gender perspective and utilise discourse analysis. The findings reveal that the University of Iceland responded by sending out announcements regularly, with the aim of keeping both staff and students informed about the way UI was reacting to and implementing instructions given out by the disease prevention authorities. By informing students and teachers simultaneously about the situation, the impression was given that everyone was in the same boat. However, in reality this was not the case as different groups faced different challenges. Teachers were expected to take additional responsibility regarding the welfare of students, not only in relation to teaching, assignments and course assessment, but also regarding students' financial circumstances and well-being. It can, therefore, be argued that expectations regarding academic housework and academic caring were raised substantially. This analysis connects to the university's policies regarding gender equality and family responsibilities. Women attend to teaching to a larger extent than men and research shows that women are simply expected to take on more caring work than men. Within the announcements, this difference is neither addressed nor is there a link to gender equality or family responsibility policies. The findings show that rather than slowing down there is an emphasis on gearing up and achieving results, which is in line with notions of „the excellent university" and the temporal order of capitalism (Suckert, 2021). Subsequently there is more emphasis on keeping the system going rather than considering the situation and the well-being of employees. The message is, therefore, paradoxical and inconsistent. Sometimes university policies have a supportive role within the announcements, indicating how well the university is doing, while at other times within the same announcements the policies are contradicted. The paradox becomes crystallised, when citing different persons for inspiration, with the intention of pulling both students and employees through the pandemic, since men are for the most part cited in the announcements as sources of inspiration. Generally speaking, it can be said that the announcements sent during the Covid-19 pandemic highlight how relying on employees to maintain the university's prominent and leading position is ill-matched when it comes to employees' well-being and family life. The aim of this study is to draw attention to the gendered message sent out and its potential gendered consequences. We want to emphasize the importance of intertwining gender and equality perspectives within all policies of the University of Iceland, as is indeed specified within the equality policy of the university itself. Only in that way will it be possible to break down the aura of gender inequality and practise equality for real. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mikilvægt er að standa vörð um jafnrétti kynjanna á tímum Covid 19 þar sem búast má við bakslagi, bæði vegna þess að staða undirskipaðra hópa versnar enn frekar og á óvissutímum er hætta á að jafnréttisáherslur mæti afgangi. Í greininni eru tilkynningar rektors Háskóla Íslands til nemenda og starfsfólks í kórónuveirufaraldrinum greindar út frá sjónarmiðum kynjajafnréttis. Gögn rannsóknarinnar samanstanda af 96 tilkynningum sem sendar voru á tímabilinu febrúar 2020 til maí 2021. Gögnin, um 11.000 orð, voru orðræðugreind. Helstu niðurstöður eru þær að áhersla er lögð á kennslu og stuðning við nemendur, vinnu sem konur sinna í meiri mæli en karlar. Um leið er lögð áhersla á að halda uppteknum hætti varðandi rannsóknavirkni þrátt fyrir breyttar aðstæður, áhersla sem karlar virðast frekar geta tileinkað sér. Þannig er staða Háskóla Íslands sem háskóla í fremstu röð í forgrunni og fjölskyldu-og jafnréttisstefna í bakgrunni. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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