Diversity as a Cross-Sectional Task - Diversity Mainstreaming at KIT

Integrating the diversity of people into everyday working life at KIT and enabling all employees to work well is a task that affects not only individuals, but everyone. In order to sustainably anchor the idea of diversity and integrate it as a core element in all processes and structures, existing measures at KIT are being systematically further developed in the sense of "diversity mainstreaming" as part of the HRK initiative "Diversity at German Universities". The aim is to promote diversity as a cross-sectional task throughout KIT.

KIT

Diversity mainstreaming should be understood as an overall concept in which the diversity of employees and students is considered and taken into account in strategic developments. A holistic and broadly effective concept makes it possible to cover the need for action across several target groups and to counteract (intersectional) discrimination. Numerous institutions and structures already exist at KIT that promote the topic of diversity. Dealing with the diversity of employees at KIT is strategically and structurally integrated into the organization, e.g. in the umbrella strategy KIT 2025, in the mission statement, in the diversity statement, in the code of conduct or in the ethical guidelines.

Within the BMBF-funded initiative of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) "Diversity at German Universities" , established structures and activities at KIT are being further developed and the resulting synergies harnessed in the long term. Four key areas have been identified for this purpose:

  1. Implementation of regular diversity monitoring: to date, KIT has a comprehensive gender monitoring system that highlights the equal opportunities situation for women and men. Data on international employees and students is also regularly collected and published in KIT's annual report, among other things. However, this does not yet allow a comprehensive statement to be made on the extent to which social diversity is represented at KIT. For this reason, a standardized diversity monitoring system with two main components is being set up. Firstly, a complete overview of relevant diversity indicators in the form of a diversity dashboard and secondly, a validated and compact set of questions to record the diversity climate at KIT.
  2. Expansion of diversity skills among managers: The development of diversity skills among employees and, in particular, managers and executives at KIT is named as a separate focus in the Diversity Statement and is therefore of central importance. Due to their prominent role and function as role models, the development of skills among managers is particularly important and leads to a certain sustainability of the measure, not least because they often stay longer in the organization in comparison. In order to support managers in shaping their role, various formats are being developed that usefully complement the already implemented offers for expanding diversity competence.
  3. Promoting the integration of diversity aspects into KIT research projects: Excellent research that takes into account all parameters of the research subject and is highly relevant to society is the aspiration of KIT scientists. For this reason, the influence of diversity aspects is of great importance. Subject-specific lectures by experts and the stimulation of interdisciplinary discourse are intended to provide concrete support for the integration of diversity aspects into research. Important information will also be made available on the project website.
  4. Further development of diversity-sensitive procedures in administration: The science support area at KIT is of particular importance in diversity mainstreaming, as important diversity-relevant procedures are designed, implemented and supported here. This applies, for example, to the recruitment of new employees, personnel selection and the training, strategic development and support of academic staff. KIT has already responded to this particular challenge by developing and implementing measures such as the Cross-Cultural-Competences certificate program and other awareness-raising measures such as the Unconscious Bias Workshops. In addition, customized offers and formats for skills development have been developed.