Diversity Audit 2020-2023
Diversity Audit 2020-2023
In February 2023, the University of Oldenburg successfully completed its participation in the diversity audit „Shaping Diversity” by the Stifterverband with certification. The university started the audit in October 2020 and was accompanied by an external auditor throughout the entire process. All status groups and various committees of the university were involved in the two-year process.
During the the auditing process five internal workshops were held and six project groups developed measures for key areas in order to anchor diversity as a cross-cutting issue in all areas of university life in the long term. Part of the results of the audit was the issueing of the ‚Diversity understanding within the framework of equal opportunites’ in 2022 and the consolidation of the Diversity Committee which advises the Presidential Board on diversity issues. The results of and an extensive reflection on the auditing process can be found in the ‚second self-report’ (in German and only for university members). Starting point of the auditing process was the 'first self-report' (in German and only for university members) with a detailed inventory of the university's status quo in 2020.
In addition to the internal university process, five diversity forums organized by the Stifterverband were used to exchange ideas with colleagues from universities that participated in the diversity audit at the same time. In addition to the University of Oldenburg, the Free University of Berlin, the Bochum University of Applied Sciences, the Clausthal University of Technology, the Kiel University of Applied Sciences, the University of Marburg and the University of Potsdam were participating in the audit at the same time and were certified with the University of Oldenburg on February 14th, 2023.
With its successful participation in the diversity audit, the University of Oldenburg is building on its profitable experience with the “Unequal Better! Diversity as an opportunity” program in 2010-2012, in which it received an award for its ‘hearing-sensitive university’ concept.
The processes initiated as part of the diversity audit will be continued. The focus is on the development and implementation of a university diversity strategy, the further development of anti-discrimination structures and the stronger anchoring of diversity in the structures of the schools.
Further genereal information about the diversity audit can be found on the homepage of the Stifterverband (in German).
Structure of the Diversity Audit at the University of Oldenburg
The process of the Diversity Audit at the University of Oldenburg is led by the Vice President for Early Career Researchers and Equal Opportunities, Professor Dr. Annett Thiele. Supported by staff from the Planning and Development Unit, they form the project management team and decide on the strategic and substantive direction of the audit.
The steering committee, which consists of the project management team and other members from the Presidential Board and its supporting units, closely coordinates the strategic and substantive direction of the process.
The members of the diversity committee represent the different status groups of the university or are involved with various diversity aspects as representatives or stakeholders. The committee thus assumes a representative function on the one hand and, by serving as a multiplier for diversity issues at the university, a communicative function on the other. The committee also advises the project groups and provides input and ideas.
The project groups are made up of experts from different status groups, depending on the topic area. Their task is to discuss their assigned topics and to develop specific goals and measures that are to be implemented as part of the auditing process.
The scientific advisory council advises the project management team from a scientific perspective. The participating scientists from the University of Oldenburg deal with diversity issues in their research and draw on proven expertise in this area.
An essential part of the auditing process are five internal university workshops, which are accompanied by Dr. Daniela De Ridder, an external auditor, who advises the project management team on process design.