Berit Ås

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Berit Ås (born April 10, 1928, in Fredrikstad) is a noted Norwegian politician, academic, and feminist.

Ås's parents were teachers. Her mother and maternal grandmother were both politically active, and her father was an avid reader and inventor. She completed her university degree in 1953 and worked on issues related to smoking hazards, consumer protection, children's safety, and housing. She taught and conducted research on women's issues at the University of Oslo and was also a visiting professor at the University of Missouri.

Ås was long a member of the the Norwegian Labour Party. Her first political office was the municipal assembly in Asker in 1967. Four years later, she led with Karla Skaare what was later known as the non-partisan "women's coup" in 1971, when women achieved majority representation in three of Norway's largest municipal assemblies.

She was effectively expelled from the Labour Party during the 1972 EU debate, after which she became the first leader of the Socialist Left Party. She served in the Norwegian parliament from 1973 to 1977, and led several political campaigns, including Women's International Strike for Peace in 1962, the women's movement against membership in the European Union, and others. She was among the first to call for a formal risk assessment of offshore drilling operations in the North Sea.

She also made important contributions to the feminist cause in Norway. She led efforts to establish the Womens University in Norway, and formulated five Master suppression techniques she claims are used against women in particular, though these may be used against other disadvantaged groups as well.