The alliance aims to establish a common framework that makes the organizations involved open to anyone with the right entrance qualifications regardless of their circumstances and social background and that fosters an environment where everyone is valued and appreciated. This is to be done by promoting an organizational culture that sees individual, social and cultural diversity as an enrichment and a sign of quality. Among the issues that the network is keen to address are increasing diversity in managerial roles in research and administration, improving the compatibility of family and career and doing more to support talented teachers and researchers in a way that champions equal opportunity.
“The network gives us an excellent platform for engaging in dialogue with other local academic and scientific institutions about how we can support equal opportunity and participation on a structural level,” says Professor Irmgard Förster, Vice Rector for Equal Opportunity and Diversity. “I’m expecting the partnership to bring about a productive exchange of ideas that will help further the development of joint measures promoting diversity and will bring us on in implementing our Excellence Strategy, such as with the institutional strategies for ensuring gender equality and improving anti-discrimination and inclusion.”
“Joining the network will enable us to strengthen the many links that already exist between us and the other institutions, harness synergy effects within the region and launch new initiatives,” explains Gabriele Alonso Rodríguez, Central Gender Equality Commissioner at the University of Bonn.
The University of Bonn’s fellow members in the Chancengerechtigkeit network in the Rhineland are the University of Cologne, RWTH Aachen University, TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, the German Aerospace Center, and FH Aachen – University of Applied Sciences. You can find the network’s guidelines at https://www.chancengerechtigkeit.uni-bonn.de/de/medien/medien-veranstaltungen-aktuelles/chancengerechtigkeit_nach_feedback.pdf