Gender equality, work-life-balance and diversity

The ZBW successfully implements equal work opportunities for women and men. We support all our employees, including part-time employees, in their professional development and career choices. Gender equality is the responsibility of all managers and a cross-sectional task impacting on all areas of the ZBW. The Federal Equality Act, the Law on Equality of Women in the Civil Service of Schleswig-Holstein and the Agreement of Implementation on Equal Opportunities provide the basis.

Should women be under-represented in academic employment and management functions, or in subject-specific areas, they will be preferred in the application procedure if they can show equal qualifications. We aim for a balanced employment structure in all our areas of activity.

For the ZBW, equal opportunities means more than just promoting a balanced gender ratio within the institution; it also means creating equal opportunities for all genders, protecting against discrimination, valuing diversity and promoting diversity mainstreaming.

As an institution of the Leibniz Association, the ZBW implements the DFG’s Research-oriented Standards on Gender Equality of the German Research Foundation (DFG), and in continuation from 2017 onwards the Leibniz Standards on Gender Equality. In our Gender Equality Plan we have engaged to implement our targets for gender equality.

The ZBW practises a family-friendly, life-phase-oriented and diversity-sensitive human resources policy. The reconciliation of work, family and way of life regards all social communities of the individual employees where they take on social responsibility, as well as caring tasks. This includes children and adults regardless of the nature of the relationship.

Our numerous measures in this area address all members of staff, regardless of gender:

Flexitime is guaranteed in a service agreement.

Part-time models with the option to return to former full-time positions are implemented flexibly and address the individual needs of employees.

Mobile work and teleworking are arranged individually within a generous framework (service agreement).

Reconciliation of work and long-term care of relatives is also supported with individual arrangements. Care guides support employees on care-related topics.

A family-unit is available at both branches.

The ZBW provides emergency childcare and participation in holiday programmes for school children in Kiel and Hamburg.

Parents can be integrated into the internal communication flow during parental leave; their participation in training programmes during parental leave supports reintegration into working life.

On 30 September 2024, the ZBW was awarded its second recertification for the audit berufundfamilie (work and family audit), once again confirming its strategically oriented family- and life-phase-conscious personnel policy.

The ZBW values the diversity of its employees and their potential, and promotes equal opportunities in career planning, diversity-friendly work arrangements and cooperation within the ZBW, as well as a broad definition of family. The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) and the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinschG) are implemented to protect against discrimination.

The ZBW was the first non-university research institution in the Leibniz Association to undergo the Diversity Audit ‘Shaping Diversity’ conducted by the Stifterverband der Deutschen Wissenschaft (Donors' Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany) in 2022 and was certified on 6 March 2024.