Decentral initiatives
In an organisation of the size and heterogeneity as the University of Vienna, there are many different initiatives regarding equality, diversity and the reconciliation of work, care and well-being. On this page we collect best practice examples from faculties, centres and service units that are essential for achieving the goal of a university free of discrimination.
Submission
Tell us about your initiative!
Does your organisational unit have measures and initiatives around equality, diversity and/or work-(self-)care reconciliation? Let us know and send us the following information to equality@univie.ac.at:
- organisational unit
- name/title of the initiative
- a short description (1-2 sentences) with the target group (if there is one)
- link to more information and/or a contact person
Association of several faculties
Research platform GAIN – Gender: Ambivalent In_Visibilities
The interdisciplinary research platform GAIN - Gender: Ambivalent In_Visibilities deals with complex processes of in_visibilities that shape power relations between genders. Visibility is an essential, albeit ambivalent factor of influence: visibility is necessary to prompt societal change; but it can also be a threat. GAIN is devoted to the gendered challenges from an intersectional perspective.
Contact: Speaker (PI) of the reseach platform: Univ.Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Holzleithner, Professor for legal philosophy and legal gender studies at the Department of Legal Philosophy
Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences
ViDSS Forum: Navigating Intersectionalities and Creating Opportunities in Academia
The ViDSS Forum: Navigating Intersectionalities and Creating Opportunities in Academia offers a platform for the safe exchange of experiences of discrimination and inequality for people somehow marked as "other" due to various identity categories. This group provides peer support for researchers at the Faculty of Social Sciences. In addition, the forum works on measures to raise awareness.
Contact: Faime Alpagu
Faculty of Physics
Diversity Coordinator
In October 2022, a position for equality and diversity was established at the Faculty of Physics in order to create a sustainable, non-discriminatory and diversity-friendly working and study environment for all members of the faculty. The Diversity Coordinator sees herself as the on-site contact person for all matters relating to gender equality and diversity.
Here you will find further information.
Consultation hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10:00-12:00 with registration
Contact: Mag. Brigitte Bischof
Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies
VO Take Over. Intersektionale Interventionen
The pioneering project "VO Take Over. Intersektionale Interventionen" (organised by Teresa Kamencek, Carola Korhummel, Seda Pesen, Institute of Art History) tackles the point where structural change is possible and must take place: In the winter semester 2023/24, seven professors and lecturers of the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies at the University of Vienna voluntarily cede one date of their introductory lecture series to young experts in order to open up canon-critical and intersectional perspectives on the respective historiographies.
Contact: VO-Take-Over-Team
Faculty of Psychology
Ombudsteam
The Faculty of Psychology has a low-threshold counselling service for early career researchers (ECRs) implemented as the ombudsteam. The members of the ombudsteam act as independent and neutral counsellors, mediators and support persons, and as a points of contact for ECRs seeking support related to issues and conflicts that arise during their employment at the Faculty or as part of their doctoral studies (ECRs are all academic staff in a qualification phase, but especially pre- and postdocs.)
Contact: Councelling service
Vienna University Library and Archive Services
Working Group Colonial Contexts in the University Library - Decolonize the library!
Library work that is critical of racism takes a conscious and critical look at and contextualisation of the historically grown inventory and the inclucion of diversity in the current building of stock. A first visible sign for this process is the establishment of a racism critical location in the Textbook Collection, both physically and online. Events to raise awareness and for further sensitisation of library employees as well as empowerment strategies for library users are key to lived diversity.
Contact: Birgit Athumani Hango, Birgit Kramreither
Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy
Gender and Diversity @ FGGA
The Gender and Diversity @ FGGA team aims to foster a gender- and diversity-sensitive culture at the faculty. Among other things, it works towards creating awareness of the problems and difficulties female scientists and members of other minorities/groups are facing in academics and enhance their visibility (see our initiative on the Women in Science Day 2023), develops counter-strategies to, e.g. reduce the loss of women and parents in science, and helps to build a strong and productive gender- and diversity-related network within the faculty.
Contact: Gender- and Diversity-team (E-Mail)
Department of Philosophy
Anti-Racism Working Group
The Anti-Racism Working Group was founded to foster anti-racist action-taking at the institute for philosophy when it comes to teaching (decolonization of syllabi, dealing with racist assertions when teaching...) as well as department life.
Contact: Anti-Racism Working Group
Faculty of Catholic Theology
Speak up! – Together against sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying at KTF
"Speak up! – Together against sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying at KTF" is an anti-discrimination campaign at the Faculty of Catholic Theology. We want all research, study and work situations at our faculty to be characterised by a non-discriminatory atmosphere and respectful interaction. With a code of conduct, a poster campaign and a guide to behaviour in the event of discrimination as well as thematic teaching units, we want to sensitise students, lecturers, researchers and non-academic staff to an anti-discriminatory attitude and show them how they can get support if they experience discrimination.
Contact: "Speak-Up!" Website
University wide
Women in Science 2024
The International Day for Women and Girls in Science, which takes place annually on 11 February, aims to draw attention to gender equality in STEM subjects. To mark this day, various faculties at the University of Vienna present female scientists in the Women in Science Day 2024 campaign.
Women in Science Day 2024 at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Data Science, Faculty of Earth Science, Geography and Astronomy, Faculty of Life Sciences, Faculty of Computer Science, Faculty of Physics, Faculty of Chemisty und Faculty of Mathematics
Other offers
You can also find points of call and offers at the University of Vienna aside from the Culture and Equality unit here:
- Projects, initiatives & services of the University of Vienna
- Points of call sorted by diversity dimensions
- Multiply Diversity! - 15 projects that won the Diversitas prize 2022
- Networking groups for scientists