Equal Opportunities

Haydée Mareike Haass
  • Haydée Mareike Haass (Equal Opportunities Representative)
  • Elisabeth Perzl (Deputy Equal Opportunities Representative)
  • Dr. Heike Amos (Ombudswoman in Berlin)
  • Dr. Daniela Taschler (Ombudswoman at the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin)

The Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History views the realization of gender equality as a central cross-sectional task that extends to all areas of activity. Its aims are to explicitly promote women by offering them opportunities for further qualification and training, to achieve the best possible balance within its staff at all career levels and in all areas of work, and to further improve the compatibility of family life and career goals both for researchers and for those working in research infrastructure-related positions.

In the 2004 IfZ Agreement on the Promotion of Equal Opportunities, the Institute administration committed itself to implement measures that strengthen equal opportunities. Over the past several years, it has worked closely with the equal opportunities representative and the Employees’ Council to introduce and successfully implement numerous measures. The Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History was accorded an excellent rating in the Leibniz Association’s survey on the implementation of equality standards in research for 2014/15. This is all anchored in the IfZ Equality Plan, which is geared toward ensuring equality in the long term.

Elisabeth Perzl

The work of the equal opportunities representative is key to promoting equal opportunities at the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History. Haydée Mareike Haass has held this position since April 2022, with Elisabeth Perzl elected as her deputy. Heike Amos (Lichterfelde) and Daniela Taschler (German Foreign Office) act as ombudswomen at the IfZ locations in Berlin. The equal opportunities representative and her deputy are active both through the Leibniz Association network and in the Munich working group of equal opportunities representatives.

The equal opportunities representative has her own budget, with which she can set her own priorities. She organizes workshops and advises the staff on issues such as the compatibility of family and working life, all in close cooperation with the Institute administration and the Employees’ Council. In addition to this focus on equality with regard to the specific needs of staff members, the IfZ also has an impact in this regard beyond the Institute itself. In autumn 2016, Sylvia Necker and Annemone Christians, who was the equal opportunities representative and deputy at the time, launched a series of events on the topic called “Das ham‘ wir gleich…” [“we’ll soon have that sorted out”]. The current IfZ equal opportunities representatives have continued to host this series of discussions on equality, gender, and equal opportunities.

The IfZ Summer Camp 2022

In 2016, the IfZ was awarded the Total E-Quality Award for its efforts with respect to equal opportunities. This distinction is awarded to institutions and companies that successfully promote equal career opportunities for women and men and connect this to their personnel and organizational policies in the long term. The objective here is to encourage participating organizations to commit to implementing equal opportunities on a broad basis. The awards committee particularly highlighted the IfZ’s “innovative measures” with regard to the compatibility of family and working life, including a summer camp for the children of employees, which was offered for the first time in 2016. The administration and the equal opportunities representative are pleased that our range of efforts towards bringing about equal opportunities have been honored in this way.

Rückblick

© Institut für Zeitgeschichte
Content