Diversity Days 2025

This year’s Diversity Days were held on May 26 to 27 and were titled 'Family Matters: Balance & Belonging', organized in cooperation with the Office of Family Services. The event focused on the intersections of family and academia. The Diversity Days, also supported by the Queer Network NRW, also highlighted the importance of synergies and exchange between academia and civil society organizations.

In addition to a reading and a workshop addressing the question of 'compatibility of parenthood and academia', a session on 'families (of choice) and queer communities' broadened perspectives on family models beyond heteronormativity and also discussed the discrimination faced by trans individuals within their families. Furthermore, a workshop on the diversity strategy and the annual network meeting took place.

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Session 'You get to pick your family'

The session titled 'Families (of Choice) opened with a talk by doctoral student Leah Petersen who reported on their dissertation project on discrimination experienced by trans* people living with their parents. Queer communities were also the subject of the subsequent talk given by University of Bonn researcher Sascha Sistenich, who is working on a doctoral thesis which indicates how these structures can serve as communities of care that support individuals.

In the panel discussion held afterwards, Elissar Zanubia El-Marouk of Project Kiki & T* at the Integrationshaus talked about the importance of Ballroom culture for trans* Bi_PoCj (Black, indigenous, People of Color, Jewish) and the need for more counseling services and safe spaces for queer people who experience racism. Lenny Streit of Queeres Netzwerk NRW, Project Trans*sensibel emphasized how addressing trans* and non-binary issues in University administration and elsewhere can promote awareness, thereby countering discrimination. Petersen and Sistenich also engaged in a discussion of how universities can create an environment where queer people can feel safe and accepted like anyone else.

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Eine Wissenschaftlerin und ein Wissenschaftler arbeiten hinter einer Glasfassade und mischen Chemikalien mit Großgeräten.

Reading and workshop 'Parenthood and academia'

Dr. Sarah Czerney and Dr. Lena Eckert gave a reading titled 'Parents in Academia: Achieving Greater Balance' that afforded insights into the structural disadvantagement suffered primarily by mothers* at universities. The temporary employment contracts, flexible project work and major publishing pressure characteristic of the academic world reveal that this is a system in which caregiving responsibilities have no place. That this is the case is underscored by the fact that over 70% of professorships in Germany are still held by men. These hurdles lead many women to eventually give up on their academic career—in StEM fields roughly half of all female German researchers.

The second day of the Diversity Days gave participants an opportunity to get active within a workshop setting. Activities included writing exercises to reflect on the structural conditions faced by parents in academia and dialogue sessions on ways to improve greater balance. Participants also worked out ideas together on what additional support the University of Bonn could give researchers and teaching staff who have family responsibilities, such as by creating more networking opportunities for queer parents, aligning semester breaks with school holidays and recognizing maternity already during appointment procedures.

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World café on the diversity strategy

On the second day of the Diversity Days over 40 University staff and students met in a World Café setting to discuss the latest draft of the University of Bonn Diversity Strategy. Attendees engaged in lively and plain-spoken dialogue on the five strategy points of anti-discrimination, educational equity, family-friendliness, gender equality and inclusion & participation. This World Café concluded a series of workshop discussions on strategy development held in winter semester 2023/24. The Diversity Strategy is to be ready in its final form in the summer of 2025.

The Diversity Days concluded with a social networking event with equal opportunity and diversity stakeholders at the University of Bonn.