The above visualization shows how extensive and multidisciplinary research on inequality is. By looking at the sheer volume nodes in this diagram we see the sheer breadth of inequality research at INEQ. The visualization captures the ways in which inequalities intersect with one another. Through cross-cutting linkages we see, for example, gender as linked with education, mortality, ageing, work, politics, care, alcohol and violence, and with issues of identity and risk. Likewise, education-related research is also central with themes such as socio-economic status, health and epidemiology, employment, social inequalities, and gender being addressed. Furthermore, much education is related to the Finnish context. This is not surprising given that education is often seen as an equalizer of inequalities. Beyond these themes, the visualization shows that in 2022 the COVID-19 pandemic was significant theme in inequality research at the University of Helsinki. Here, the impacts of the pandemic, the experiences of individuals living through it and, to a lesser extent, access to healthcare resources emerge as significant themes.
The INEQ profiling area, which deals extensively with issues of inequality, brings together and aims to promote inequality research at the University of Helsinki. Collectively, the analysis shows that inequality is associated with a wide variety of research themes and questions. Inequalities relating to to health (and importantly mental health), education, language skills, gender, the life course (particularly childhood and adolescence), race, religion, politics, residential area, et cetera are all addressed. As the multiple connections show, the intersections and accumulation of these different elements and characteristics are central to inequalities research. Along with the social sciences, issues of inequality are significant in health, population, economic research, and the educational sciences, as well as in the interdisciplinary fields of gender and migration studies. Themes relation to inequalities research are studied using a variety of methods, from cohort studies to discourse and conversation analysis. This clearly emphasizes how important interdisciplinary research cooperation is for understanding inequalities and their causes and consequences. The promotion of this understanding and cooperation is at the center of INEQ’s activities.