Purpose – National and international developments, along with increasing demands for equality, challenge the promotion of equality in academia. This study aims to investigate how Finnish university middle managers recognize, conceptualize and address equalities as actionable within their roles.

Design/methodology/approach – This study draws on qualitative content analysis of interviews with middle managers (n = 10) from three multidisciplinary, research-intensive universities at different stages of organizational change. The university is conceptualized as a hybrid organization where many "new" managerial and equality work developments are both supported by and in tension with "old" practices and structures. The terms "old" and "new" refer to legal and managerial developments in universities, as well as to shifting understandings of equality.

Findings – Three key tensions regarding equality work reflect the state of change between "old" and "new": equality as dismantling gender segregation vs. meritocracy, equality as routines vs. emancipation and equality as formal participation vs. inclusion. The analysis uncovers how "old" equality work upholds inequality and "new" does not really challenge it. Promoting equalities in the "new" university entails both addressing new discourses and conceptualizations and acknowledging the persistence of intersecting inequalities. Embracing polyphony as a feature of university participation - and treating it as a necessary condition for organizing - can advance equality and democracy.

Originality/value – Although the management role is emphasized in managerialized universities with diverse demands for equality, little attention has been paid to middle managers as implementers of equality change. Their perspectives are critical for understanding equalities and participation in academia.