Antifeminism is the counter-movement to feminism. Anti-feminist movements reject sex and gender diversity as well as pluralistic lifestyles and oppose any efforts and measures aimed at achieving equality, such as the elimination of sexism, the strengthening of gender and bodily self-determination, the use of gender-sensitive language, or the adoption of measures to protect against gender-based violence. However, diversity-related issues are also fought and suppressed for political reasons. Equality work is therefore the target of anti-feminist attacks that seek to restrict the concepts of “gender,” “sexuality,” and “family” in line with their own agenda. This reveals close ideological links to other forms of group-focused enmity (racism or classism).
Equal opportunities are achieved when individual characteristics are taken into account and active measures are taken to combat existing inequalities with specific support to compensate for disadvantages. The goal in the higher education context is an institution that explicitly promotes equal opportunities for disadvantaged students, employees, and trainees in achieving their individual educational and development goals. It enables a culture of research, work, teaching, and learning in which all university members can develop their potential and enjoy equal opportunities for access and participation in all areas and to all resources.
Diversity refers to the variety of people, their diverse identities, and their realities of life. People can exhibit dimensions of diversity that they prefer and privilege depending on the context, but also those that they exclude and disadvantage. In order to reduce discrimination, potential barriers and inequalities must therefore be identified, and individual and heterogeneous dimensions must be respected in the recognition of diversity.
Feminism is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of varying and heterogeneous positions. Numerous feminist movements and efforts are united by the goal of exposing power relations and dismantling inequalities associated with gender. The Equal Opportunities Office at TU Darmstadt understands feminism from an intersectional perspective, considers queer gender identities in the fight against gender inequality, and advocates for improvements for people who identify as women. We are committed to a society in which all genders are granted equal rights and equal appreciation.
The advancement of women counteracts discrimination against women in education and the workplace through targeted measures for professional development, thereby eliminating existing inequalities in career opportunities. Ideally, these measures should improve promotion prospects and ensure equal representation in management positions.
In Germany, targeted promotion of individuals or groups to compensate for disadvantages through different treatment is permitted under Section 5 of the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG). The TU Darmstadt allocates €100,000 from the state budget each year to fund structural and individual support for women of all status groups in the 13 departments, as well as activities to raise awareness of gender issues among all members of the university community.
Gender affects all areas of social interaction, as it structures these interactions through certain expectations of the sexes. Depending on socially defined gender roles, certain characteristics, behaviors, traits, etc. are attributed to the sexes, but these are historically changeable and culturally diverse. Depending on gender, living conditions such as exposure to violence, but also the dominant images in the media, differ. Gender is socially and politically conditioned, for example through institutional structures such as the state registration of gender. In addition to gender attribution, i.e., how gender is perceived by others, gender identity describes the gender with which a person identifies, how they see themselves, and this does not have to correspond to the gender assigned to them at birth. ‘Sex’ and gender are related but not identical terms. ‘Sex’ refers to the biological heterogeneity of living beings in terms of their gender. Sex and gender influence each other and are not binary categories.
Gender diversity competence takes gender and diversity issues into account in research, teaching, study, and work practices in a university context. The person is aware of the construction of social norms that assign meaning to characteristics, resulting in inequalities. This sensitivity and the ability to reflect on exclusionary mechanisms, especially in relation to subject and departmental cultures, are expressed in attentive actions that question structures of disadvantage and create conditions that promote equality. Included in this competence is an attitude that recognizes diversity as a resource and sustainably raises awareness of power relations.
Gender gaps exist in all areas where statistical differences in gender distribution can be measured:
Gender equity is achieved when inequalities between the sexes are eliminated, in particular by reducing the underrepresentation of women and structural barriers for all underrepresented genders.
Gender Equality is a constitutional mandate in Germany, as equal rights are enshrined in Article 3 of the Basic Law as an objective: “The state shall promote the actual realization of equal rights for women and men and take steps to eliminate existing disadvantages.” Legal equality must be distinguished from equality as de facto equal treatment, which encompasses the implementation of this right in everyday life, i.e., the actual establishment of equal living and working conditions, equal treatment of all, and equal participation of all in all social resources. Gender Equality laws and officers have been established to implement this right. For TU Darmstadt, gender equality means that women have equal access to all positions in research, teaching, and administration and that discrimination of any kind against all genders is eliminated. The basis for TU Darmstadt's equality work, as set out in the Gender Equality Plan, is to question and break down stereotypes, existing structures, and supposed laws of the scientific system. Gender Equality work thus goes beyond the legal mandate to promote female employees in areas where they are underrepresented (§ 1 HGlG).
The concept of intersectionality recognizes 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 individual experiences of discrimination or favoritism. From an intersectional perspective, the interaction of different influences leads to specific and sometimes new forms of social inequality(ies) that depend on different power relations. Intersectionality therefore does not simply mean multiple discrimination. For gender equality, taking intersections into account means not only focusing on measures to achieve gender equality, but also examining whether these measures are sufficient to strengthen all identities in their environment. Intersectional feminism thus contains the challenge and opportunity to achieve justice for all.
The cascade model was developed for science and compares the absolute proportion of women at a certain career level with the proportion at the previous level in order to highlight the decline in the proportion of women from a lower to a higher level. It is “based on the idea that the target values at each career level should be based on the actual values at the career level below” (The DFG's Research-Oriented Standards on Gender Equality: Implementation and Impact 2017: 15). Calculating a target quota to be achieved within a specifically defined period of time serves as a realistic approach to parity, as higher positions can only be filled from the pool of women at lower levels. TU Darmstadt follows the cascade model of the Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz (GWK, Joint Science Conference), which enables subject-specific targets for the proportion of women at successive qualification levels.
‚Leaky pipeline’ describes the phenomenon whereby a disproportionate number of women in science drop out as they progress to higher career levels, meaning that “the level of women's participation at the entry levels to science (studies, degree, and doctorate) is not reflected to the same extent at higher levels” (DFG's Research-Oriented Standards on Gender Equality: Implementation and Effects 2017: 21). A particularly sharp decline in the proportion of women is noticeable in the STEM subjects. Although women are often well represented at the beginning, for example in university studies, their proportion declines with each career level (from doctoral degrees to scientific positions to management positions). The “leaky pipeline” thus points to persistent structural inequalities and highlights the need to create gender-equitable structures.
Misogyny (Greek misos/hatred and gyne/woman) describes an attitude that assigns less value to women and hierarchizes them within a binary gender ideology. Such an attitude pattern forms the basis for male dominance. Within patriarchy, misogynistic practices are therefore commonplace. This ranges from a lack of recognition of women's work to femicide. People of all genders can internalize this form of misogyny, which is why it appears in many different forms and with varying degrees of intensity.
Patriarchy refers to a social system that privileges men or people perceived as male and, based on these privileges, structurally grants them more power and decision-making authority. It therefore describes a social order in which structural relationships of dominance are shaped, controlled, and represented by men. The emphasis on male superiority goes hand in hand with the discrimination of other genders, for example when even areas essential to survival, such as medical research, are primarily geared towards the male members of society. Since this form of society emphasizes gender differences and roles, it is also often characterized by the oppression of women, children, and people whose gender or body defies the male/female categorization.
