Equal opportunity means the same opportunities for access and participation in all areas and to all resources for all students and employees.
Diversity focuses on the equal, prejudice-free treatment of all people independent of any diversity attributes such as gender, age, religion, world view, ethnic origins, physical or mental impairments, sexual identity, social situations and cultures. Within the context of the university there are additional significant dimensions: Educational background, social origin, learning types and diversity of lifestyles.
Advancement of women comprises measures for the targeted professional development of women with the aim to eliminate the actual inequalities which exist.
Gender refers to the social and socio-cultural constructed characteristics associated with gender roles. While gender refers to the socio-cultural gender, sex denotes the biological gender.
Gender diversity competence comprises the following abilities:
- Assessment of gender and diversity-related questions in relation to one’s own research, teaching, studies, or work practices
- Ability to reflect on exclusion and inclusion mechanisms, in particular in relation to departments, departmental cultures and organisational structures
- Recognition of (unintentional) structural discrimination and creation of conditions that promote gender equality
- Recognize and utilise diversity as a resource
Gender equity is achieved when inequalities between the sexes are exposed, in particular through the elimination of underrepresentation of women and the dismantling of structural hurdles for all underrepresented sexes.
Gender equality is the actual creation of equal conditions for living and working as well equal access to resources and possibilities to participate.
Stereotypes are often unconscious and unintentional presuppositions and prejudices based upon characteristic-based attributes.
Unconscious biases are thought patterns and categories which the human brain has developed in order to process information and reduce complexity. This can lead to undesired and unintentional discrimination effects, in particular in situations where assessment and selection are involved.
Intersectionality is a term coined in 1989 by the jurist and civil rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw. It aims to recognize that people's lives are shaped by many identities, relationships, and social factors. When forms of privilege and oppression intersect, they create unique identities for individuals, leading to their own unique experiences of discrimination and oppression. For gender equality, considering intersections is a way of recognizing that beyond being oriented by gender equality measures, they should evaluate if they are sufficient to empower all identities in their environment.
