Identify injustices, find possible solutions

Interview with Equal Opportunity Officer Dr Barbara Hillen

The behaviour and performance of men and women are often evaluated differently. Equal opportunities involves striving to name the resulting injustices and finding possible solutions. As elected Equal Opportunity Officer at H-BRS, Dr Barbara Hillen is in charge of this task.

Ɏ On Dialogue Day 2022, you focused on men’s perspectives regarding balancing work and family life. Why is this perspective important?

» Men tend to have to justify themselves within their peer group when, for instance, they want to take extended parental leave. This is especially the case for professors. Equal opportunities doesn’t just mean supporting women professionally, it is also about encouraging men to fulfil their responsibilities within the family.

Ɏ H-BRS has been certified as family-friendly since 2007. What effect does this certification have?

» A certification first reflects on one’s own work and then ideally has a ripple effect – employees of the university stand up for the topic of family justice in their everyday work. This long-standing certificate proves we are a reliable and modern employer. This means that children and their parents are without question a part of our university. In 2022, we set up nursing, nappy-changing and quiet rooms since parents need a quiet place to retreat or, at other times, a place to work where the child can also be noisy, such as in the parent-child office space. We’ve equipped this room with new, contemporary children’s books that do away with gender clichés, for instance. Unfortunately, children’s books are still very often full of clichés. Equality and diversity in this area is a matter close to our heart.

Ɏ How do you work to combat violence against women?

» Violence has many faces, and in the majority of cases it comes from men. Examples of this include sexist remarks; inappropriate behaviour in committees, on campus or in other work situations; hurtful messages in lecture chat groups or via email. It cuts through all social classes. The university does not tolerate such behaviour. In the event of assaults, those affected can report the incident to the “person of trust” in their department, the counselling centre HELP or the Equal Opportunities Officer. The Department of Computer Science has adopted an exemplary awareness concept for the prevention of violence and presented it to other departments. Such initiatives are valued and supported by the Equal Opportunities Office.