Diversity and gender equality at all levels

Whether it’s the diversity certificate “Vielfalt gestalten” (“Shaping Diversity”), free menstrual products, a coaching programme for female leadership culture or the awards for theses on greater gender equity, H-BRS takes its mission of being a gender- and family-friendly university seriously.

Diversity I can do it

In 2021, after a two-year process, the university passed the diversity audit of the Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany and received the “Shaping Diversity” certificate. With its diversity strategy, H-BRS has resolved to increase its academic success, strengthen diversity competences, develop cooperative partnerships, facilitate participation and ensure gender equality. The Diversity Steering Committee is responsible for putting the diversity strategy into practice and is committed to a respectful and cooperative working, learning and living environment. It provides impulses to the President’s Office, takes ideas and suggestions on board and informs university bodies about the university’s diversity activities. Moreover the central diversity management has an impact on the university and the region by giving diversity visibility, raising awareness of the importance of diversity and connecting stakeholders.

Once a month

In winter semester 2021/22, the Equal Opportunities Office’s pilot project provided free sanitary products in five selected campus toilets. In the spirit of gender equality, this initiative aims to address the basic needs of menstruating persons. They are often disadvantaged at universities compared to non-menstruating persons as they frequently have to interrupt or even cancel their studying and daily routines in order to obtain sanitary products. The Equal Opportunities Office sees this offer as a way to help people to help themselves and is taking a leading role among universities in NRW. The university aims to share the results of the representative survey on the project with other institutions and companies. With the new coaching programme of the Equal Opportunities Office, the university would like to support people (female/diverse) in leadership positions with personal development. As such, a female leadership culture will be sustainably promoted in daily working life. The programme is specifically aimed at professors and people (female/diverse) who have new tasks and challenges to overcome. It runs on a part-time basis and is structured over the course of a month with a 1:1 support programme. The concept is based on various established coaching approaches that are combined to optimally support the candidates.

Theses with gender relevance

On the overall topic of “structural discrimination of women at the national level”, Equal Opportunity Officer Dr Barbara Hillen honoured one Bachelor’s and one Master’s thesis from the Department of Social Policy and Social Security Studies. For the first time, the prize was open to all students, independent of their gender. In his Master’s thesis, prize winner Anas Ghonaim from Egypt considers the relationship between instruments of state control and gender equality in his home country. Saskia Peek won the prize for the best Bachelor’s thesis. She compares the state welfare systems of Germany and Sweden using the example of labour market integration of mothers.