From the perspective of the Equal Opportunity Office, the way in which the coronavirus pandemic has been handled at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar has been very constructive and solution-oriented. A bilateral exchange with the Crisis Unit made it possible to move forward with the reopening of the »bauhäuschen« flexible childcare. In addition, the general regulations to allow flexible trust-based working hours for employees who have care-taking responsibilities, as well as the modifications made to the study and examination regulations based on the »General regulations for managing the effects of the corona virus pandemic on studying and academic affairs« are worth mentioning. Financial support and the scholarship extensions in response to financial difficulties experienced by students and academic staff as a result of the pandemic also gave people a much-needed change in perspective.
A comprehensive collection of material on crisis management during the coronavirus pandemic and the increase in structural discrimination against women and those with care-taking responsibilities as a result of COVID-19 is available (in German) on the Bundeskonferenz der Gleichstellungsbeauftragten (bukof) website: https://bukof.de/service/corona-gleichstellung-und-hochschule-in-der-pandemie/.
The main disadvantages and discriminations that have become especially apparent for women during this period according to an excerpt from this collection are summarised below. The keyword collection is a result of a survey conducted by bukof in May 2020 at German universities, colleges and research institutions.
Multiple burdens have been placed on women of all status groups due to care work/home schooling: extreme demands on single parents, burdens on families with small children. Additional pressure is caused by a lack of access to adequate emergency care, the privatisation of care, or a lack of partner-based Solutions.
There has been an increase in physical and mental stress, leading to burnout in the home office, unfamiliar manifestations of risk-patients, and fundamental fears (fears of existence, infection, or financial worries).
Women tend to have poorer access to IT infrastructure. In addition, certain lower-income groups (lower-wage employees, students) also experience discrimination.
This can include obstacles to work efficiency, career progression or successful studies. Challenges also include changed exam formats, more difficult access to information, less time for research and publications, a higher value on presence than working in the home office (performance is evaluated based on presence/online presence), and the ability to separate private space from the work/study space.
Decisions and processes are becoming less transparent. There are delays in third-party funding to projects supporting the advancement of women, application conditions for emergency support, and there may be a low level of awareness for such issues from management. There are few blanket measures in place for promoting equal opportunities; instead, individual solutions have to be individually negotiated. Gender aspects in digital teaching and other processes are ignored and gender equality aspects are marginalised in that there is no mention of this in university and research institutes’ PR work.
The Equal Opportunity Office recommends the following points for the everyday life of students, instructors and employees at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar:
1. Mobile Work: Individual, flexible regulations for mobile work. The needs of commuters and single parents should be taken into account, regardless of how old the children are. The Equal Opportunity Office welcomes the establishment of a working group who has been working on standardising mobile working regulations since September 2020.
2. Family-Friendly Study and Working Conditions: The needs of individuals with personal care responsibilities must be taken into consideration in the planning and implementation of all courses. Students with care responsibilities should be considered in extending deadlines, and exam application extensions should be designed and processed with minimal bureaucracy.
3. Participation in Digital Teaching: Digital course content must be accessible and usable for the long term.
4. WissZeitVG Extensions: Contract extension applications under the amended »Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz« should be generously granted, especially to those with care responsibilities. (https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/themenseite-forschung/zeitvertraege-wissenschaft-1739918)
5. Publication Gap: The low output of publications by women must be made transparent and retrospectively recognised in application and appointment procedures.
Notice anything missing from this list? Have you had other experiences or do you need further support? Please contact us via e-mail at tina.meinhardt[at]uni-weimar.de.
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