For the tenth time, an event open to all interested parties, took place at the University for Continuing Education Krems on the occasion of International Women's Day. This year, the focus turned to women with a migration background and the challenges and opportunities they face in their careers through presentations and a panel discussion. It is this group in particular that demonstrates the importance of diversity.
What constitutes diversity, what does it mean? Helga Eberherr, FH Campus Wien and Vienna University of Economics and Business discussed these questions with an overview of the development of the term, the legal framework and various approaches to diversity. According to Eberherr, diversity is subject to multiple meanings, and it is necessary to deal with norms - be it performance, gender roles or age. Anna Faustmann, Department of Migration and Globalisation, outlined with concrete figures, how complex the situation is for women with a migration background in Austria. According to Faustmann, the determining factor is that women become an integral part of the labor market and the problem of mutually reinforcing disadvantageous factors is particularly striking for women with a migration background. In the concluding panel discussion the following contributed lively impulses: Joanna Kowolik, Project and Event Management Happylab Vienna and Maker Fair Vienna; Manuela Leoni, Managing Director of Impulse Krems, Head of Asylum and Integration Coordination, Parent Coaching and Intercultural Family Support, and Youth Coordinator; Andrea Merz, Global HR Director Leadership and Talent Development; as well as Ekaterina Titova, lawyer, consultant for professional integration and entrepreneurship for migrants.
The event in pictures
Strategically rooting gender equality and diversity
The University for Continuing Education Krems holds equality and diversity high, therefore all strategic documents are committed to these objectives and marked alongside a balanced bundle of measures. In particular, the Working Group for Equality Issues and the Office for Equality, Gender and Diversity, together with many stakeholders of the University for Continuing Education Krems, are continuously striving to strengthen gender equality perspectives in organization, research and teaching. An equal gender ratio at all hierarchical levels shall be achieved, structural barriers dismantled, and a comprehensive localization and thematic focus on gender equality and diversity shall be developed. "The medium- to long-term plan is so that diversity and gender are addressed in all of the university's studies. As a university we can make a very significant contribution to society," said Rector Faulhammer in his welcoming address.
Measures
The University for Continuing Education Krems has implemented numerous measures to achieve its goals and to raise awareness of the issues of equality and diversity. These include the mentoring program Karriere_Mentoring III, which has been carried out jointly with the universities of Linz and Salzburg for the fifth time, and the development and coaching program ENCO. Another program that has been developed is the mobility program for young female scientists and a concept for the "development of equality-oriented criteria for selection procedures for professors". The existing gender pay gap was used as an example to show that constant efforts are necessary. An encouraging forthcoming in this context is, for example, the rise in the number of assistant professorships. According to the Intellectual Capital Report 2022, the gender pay gap of 103.4 percent in this group is in favor of women. The values are subject to fluctuations, depending on the respective makeup of the academic staff and the length of time they have been at the university. The University of Krems is committed to making further efforts in order to close the gender pay gap, Rector Faulhammer says.
The International Women's Day event at the University of Continuing Education Krems was for the first time certified as a "Green Event" and a joint organization of the Rectorate of the University of Continuing Education Krems, the Office for Equality, Gender and Diversity, the Working Group for Equal Treatment Issues, the Department for Migration and Globalisation, and the Student Union at Danube University Krems. Eser Akbaba, a presenter for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF), led the event and shared her own experiences on the topic.
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