Equal Opportunities and Diversity

RWTH leadership sees ensuring equal opportunity as their responsibility and has firmly embedded this goal in all RWTH strategy papers. The Vice-Rector for Human Resources Management and Development works closely with the Inclusion, Gender, and Diversity Management Staff Unit (IGaD) and the Equal Opportunities Office (see also the first Sustainability Report).

In 2021, the Senate adopted the Inclusion Action Plan (2021-2026), in October 2022, the Gender Equality Plan (2022-2027), and in December 2022, the Diversity Strategy (2022-2027), which aims to ensure more equity in university structures through numerous activities in the following spheres of action: Make the University more diverse and inclusive, drive cultural change, raise awareness of gender and diversity issues within the campus community, and develop a life-phase-oriented HR policy.

Steering committees such as the Equal Treatment and Nondiscrimination Round Table action group and forumDIVERSITY are actively engaged in ensuring equal opportunities for all (see also the first Sustainability Report). Firmly embedded in RWTH’s structure are the Family Services Center, which provides a wide range of information, advice, and concrete assistance for students with children, any RWTH members needing childcare, or those who care for other relatives (see the Equal Opportunities Office’s annual report from 2022) and the Gender & Diversity Consulting Service for help with research proposals and projects, which recorded a significant increase in demand in 2022.

In 2022, we continued to step up our activities to promote equal opportunities at RWTH: Two new web portals on gender and diversity provide specific information, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research project GesMINT started a seven-month concept phase, and the Inclusion Working Group has begun implementing the first measures from the Inclusion Action Plan. The TANDEMdok mentoring program for female doctoral candidates from all disciplines was offered in two groups for the first time due to high applicant numbers. Numerous central institutions and faculties took advantage of tailored awareness-raising offers from the Gender & Diversity Knowledge Program. Finally, RWTH’s work to ensure equal employment opportunities was successfully evaluated by a project partner organization as part of the EU SPEAR project.

Making diversity more visible remains a central concern at RWTH: To mark the RWTH Diversity Days, numerous institutions once again partnered to highlight the great potential offered by the University’s diverse community (2021). As a long-standing signatory of the Diversity Charter, RWTH also took part in the nationwide German Diversity Day campaign in 2022. The IGaD event series includes numerous events on aspects of gender and diversity every year (see also the 2021 and 2022 IGaD annuals). The extensive event program of the Equal Opportunities Office includes offers to raise awareness and encourage a sense of empowerment for different target groups within the University. The joint newsletter of the Equal Opportunities Office and the IGaD Staff Unit provides relevant information on equal opportunities every three months.

RWTH regularly takes part in competitions and certification procedures in the context of equal opportunities. In addition to receiving the TOTAL E-QUALITY award and the “Family-Friendly University Audit” certificate (see also the first Sustainability Report), RWTH has borne the Compatibility of Work & Care Duties seal of the NRW state program since 2022. For quality assurance purposes, RWTH regularly uses the Ranking Of Higher Education Institutions According to Gender Equality Aspects and the NRW Universities Gender Report.