The FHNW aims to ensure equal opportunities at all levels. By committing to a diversity-based study, continuing education and work environment, it is expressly in favour of embracing diversity and against discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying.
News – projects from the FHNW’s schools
All nine of the FHNW’s schools have numerous projects that explore or implement the topic of diversity from a wide range of perspectives.
INCLUDO event
Talking about racism has never been easy – and it will never be. Denial, belittling and avoidance of the topic make it even more difficult. There's power in an open talk. Tzegha Kibrom and Stephanie Duttweiler want to talk about difficulties and show possibilities to ignite a common dialogue at the next Includo event on 23 October 20224.
On the occasion of the National Future Day, the FHNW opens its doors again for children from the 5th form. The aim of the day is to show the kids future career opportunities.
The schools offer a broad range of workshops and insights into new job roles and fun activities.
Every year in June, rainbow flags appear on the several Campus of the FHNW and the LGBTIQ+-community is in focus. The acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bi-, inter-, and transsexual and queer people. For more than 50 years, the community celebrates sexual diversity and protests against discrimination and lack of equality.
The FHNW shows its support for the community and makes queer people visible by hoisting flags on its campuses. Throughout the year, the FHNW and its diversity department are committed to fostering an inclusive campus culture.
See also the research cooperation on the inclusion of LGBTIQ+ students in Swiss Higher Education institutions of BFH, PH Bern and FHNW in the programme ‘Diversität, Inklusion und Chancengerechtigkeit in der Hochschulentwicklung’ supported by swissuniversities.
Sexual Harassment Awareness Day
Sexism and sexual harassment exist in Swiss academia. On 25. April 2024, the Swiss higher education bodies hold the second national Sexual Harassment Awareness Day. The FHNW offers information and awareness meetings.
Racism does also exist within higher education institutions. A lack of representation and participation of non-white university members, eurocentric perspectives and various discriminations are just a few examples. Universities must take an active stance in the debate about racism to question and counter structural racism. This needs knowledge and awareness to recognise racism and it needs the language and the courage to call out racism. A multi-days workshop in spring 2024 made FHNW members aware of multiple dimensions of discrimination. More workshops and events are planned.
All-Gender WCs
Starting this semester, there will be designated all-gender WCs at most FHNW locations. These are single-user WCs and are open to everyone - women, men and people who do not assign themselves to the binary gender system. This allows everyone to use the toilet that corresponds to their own gender identity and expression. Gender-neutral WCs thus contribute to the maintenance and promotion of mental and physical health. They ensure safety and create a discrimination-free environment for diverse people. Providing gender-neutral WCs is a simple but effective step in promoting equality for people regardless of their gender identity. An overview of the currently available All-Gender WCs can be found under the heading "Queerness" within Inside FHNW (Intranet).
Job profile: lecturer university of applied sciences
The job description of a university of applied sciences lecturer is relatively young and unknown. In addition, universities of applied sciences find it difficult to recruit qualified women for teaching positions. The project team of ‘Berufsbild Fachhochschuldozentin’ will present the job description and career paths as part of a series of events entitled ‘Career Start at Universities of Applied Sciences’. Participation is free of charge. Registration for the workshops. More information and background on the project ‘Dozent*innen FH: Geschlechterintegratives Branding umsetzen’
Topics and tasks
The FHNW is committed to equal opportunities for people – staff and students – with disabilities and impairments. In addition to providing the appropriate facilities, this also means enabling barrier-free studies. Contact points offer personal advice and provide information on issues such as disadvantage compensation. Additional information on barrier-free studying in Switzerland can be found on the swissuniability platform.
The FHNW makes it possible to reconcile areas of life such as work, family, caring for relatives and leisure. In addition to the benefits prescribed by law, generous working time arrangements and mobile and flexible working models serve to promote a work-life balance. Human resources departments, study administrations and diversity officers offer advice in this regard.
Parent-child rooms as well as rooms where mothers can breastfeed and express milk are available at the FHNW. The university also makes available bags of toys that allow children to be kept entertained while parents or other caregivers bring them onto the premises for a meeting or a visit to the library.
As part of the FHNW’s efforts in terms of diversity management, concepts and tools for maintaining and promoting diversity are integrated into the organisation. The document Strategic priorities and action plan 2021–2024 (PDF, 244 KB, German) forms the basis for this. It not only defines areas for action but also gathers together concrete targets, indicators and measures and raises their profile.
The FHNW sees itself as a university that welcomes diversity and promotes openness. As an educational institution under public law, it bears a special responsibility and at the same time acts as an important source of impetus for social discourse. Equality, respect and esteem are fundamental pillars of its university culture. This includes efforts to include all people in the language and to make visible who is being meant and addressed. The FHNW is therefore guided in its communication by the following five principles:
We reflect our everyday use of language.
We respect what people want to be called.
We don’t reduce people to individual traits.
We don’t value people and their experiences.
We protect the personal integrity of others.
The digital FHNW Language Compass, which is published on the Inside FHNW (Intranet), is intended as a language guide for the areas of word, writing and images. Instead of dictating, it aims to inspire and give concrete recommendations on how to communicate in an inclusive manner. It addresses the themes of gender-inclusive, anti-racist and barrier-free language, LGBTQIA+ language and inclusive visual language. Finally, it gives an overview of basic Dos and Don'ts.
The FHNW is strongly committed to equal opportunities at management level. It has set itself the goal of increasing the current proportion of female professors and females (30.2 % and 30.4 %) by 15 % by 2035. To achieve this, various management tools and accompanying measures are being implemented, such as adapted employer branding and guidelines for selection committees.
The FHNW opens its doors to school pupils on the annual “National Future Day”. Workshops offer a chance to discover new professions and gain a wealth of insights. The offerings can be viewed and booked on the National Future Day website.
In order to ensure a diversity-appropriate study, continuing education and work environment, the FHNW expressly advocates against discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying. To this end, the FHNW has issued regulations on the protection of personal integrity and on reporting and investigative procedures in the event of violations of personal integrity. At the same time, new management culture processes, awareness-raising activities and management tools such as key employee data are contributing to inclusion and awareness. Further details on personal integrity at the FHNW.
Awareness is a key element in promoting a culture of respectful dialogue and appreciative cooperation; at the same time, it protects the personal integrity of students, staff and continuing education participants. In addition to developing “cultural elements for cooperation and leadership (PDF, 282 KB, German),” various formats are currently being (further) developed that raise awareness in various areas and at the same time promote the diversity competence of the university’s students, employees and continuing education participants.
The FHNW is committed to a culture of diversity and thus to an LGBTQI+-friendly study and work environment. In addition to an inclusive language, there is a defined process for changing one’s name and gender entry. An expansion of facilities is currently under review (e.g. all-gender WCs, all-gender changing rooms). In the event of suspected discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, the reporting channels for violations of personal integrity apply.
It is a central aim of the FHNW to strengthen the diversity competencies of its members. The topics diversity and heterogeneity have been included in a growing number of teaching and education modules. The FHNW also offers continuing education programmes in the field of diversity and equal opportunities. Numerous research projects of the FHNW’s schools engage with a wide range of issues from the field of diversity.
See the contact addresses in ‘Inside FHNW’ for details of the diversity officers of the individual schools (access for FHNW members only).
The «Guide for University Practice» illustrates how diversity is embraced by different people at the FHNW. The brochure encourages thought and critical reflection on our own behaviour and presents approaches to shape diversity.
Talking about racism has never been easy – and it will never be. Denial, belittling and avoidance of the topic make it even more difficult. There's power in an open talk. Tzegha Kibrom and Stephanie Duttweiler want to talk about difficulties and show possibilities to ignite a common dialogue at the next Includo event on 23 October 20224.
On the occasion of the National Future Day, the FHNW opens its doors again for children from the 5th form. The aim of the day is to show the kids future career opportunities.
Starting this semester, there will be designated all-gender WCs at most FHNW locations. These are single-user WCs and are open to everyone - women, men and people who do not assign themselves to the binary gender system. This allows everyone to use the toilet that corresponds to their own gender identity and expression. Gender-neutral WCs thus contribute to the maintenance and promotion of mental and physical health. They ensure safety and create a discrimination-free environment for diverse people. Providing gender-neutral WCs is a simple but effective step in promoting equality for people regardless of their gender identity. An overview of the currently available All-Gender WCs can be found under the heading "Queerness" within Inside FHNW (Intranet).
The job description of a university of applied sciences lecturer is relatively young and unknown. In addition, universities of applied sciences find it difficult to recruit qualified women for teaching positions. The project team of ‘Berufsbild Fachhochschuldozentin’ will present the job description and career paths as part of a series of events entitled ‘Career Start at Universities of Applied Sciences’. Participation is free of charge. Registration for the workshops. More information and background on the project ‘Dozent*innen FH: Geschlechterintegratives Branding umsetzen’