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Online event: LGBTQ+ in STEM Day
November 18th is the International Day of LGBTQ+ People in STEM. We, the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Committee of CIBSS at the University of Freiburg, want to use this date to highlight the value of diversity within science and provide visibility for the experiences of researchers that identify as LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and others).
The event and survey are open for all, irrespective of whether you identify as LGBTQ+ or work in a STEM field:
Anonymous Survey: Pride in STEM
We ask you to fill out this short and anonymous questionnaire to help us get an impression of the current situation for members of the LGBTQ+ community within CIBSS and within the area of STEM in general.
Event Program
November 18, 2022; 16:00 CET; Register for the Zoom webinar here
16:00
Welcome and Introduction
Prof. Dr. Anne Classen and Dr. Peter Walentek
for the CIBSS Equal Opportunity and Diversity Committee
16:10
Workshop LGBTQ+ in Academia: Implications for Mental Health
Wendy Marie Ingram, PhD, CEO, Dragonfly Mental Health (she/her)
16:30 until approximately 17:00
Panel discussion: Experiences and Perception of LGBTQ+ in STEM
Kyle Austin, IMPRS Coordinator, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (he/him)
George Caputa, PhD, Senior Editor at Nature (they/them)
Wendy Marie Ingram, PhD, CEO, Dragonfly Mental Health (she/her)
Prof. Carien M. Niessen, PhD, Scientific Coordinator CECAD, University of Cologne (she/her)
Dr. Peter Walentek, Emmy-Noether-Groupleader CIBSS, Univ. Freiburg Medical Center (he/him)
Host: Prof. Dr. Anne Classen, CIBSS, University of Freiburg (she/her)
Greeting from the Department for Equality, Diversity and Academic Personnel Development at the University of Freiburg
The topics of gender identity and sexual orientation are two of the personality traits that the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) designates as particularly worthy of protection and that form the basis for diversity management at the University of Freiburg. Both dimensions are part of the spectrum of diversity that the university actively addresses, e.g., in awareness trainings and with a range of counseling services, yet they are challenging topics that are rarely talked about in the context of work and leadership. However, we know that they play a very important role for a large group of people at the university - in fact, for everyone!
We are dealing with a very personal and therefore particularly sensitive area - an area that initially seems to have little to do with everyday work and study at a university. It is precisely this irritation that the topics trigger that makes them a suitable starting point for a well-founded discussion of very fundamental questions about dealing with diversity: How can and do we want to establish a culture at the university that does justice to different models of living and working? How can we develop an openness for diversity, and communicate this openness internally and externally? But also: How can we eliminate prejudices and decisively counter discrimination?
Today's CIBSS event offers a wonderful opportunity to approach the topics of gender identity and sexual orientation in a protected setting and to explore and discuss the opportunities but also the limits and challenges of addressing them. We, the Vice-President for University Culture, Prof. Sylvia Paletschek, and the Department for Equality, Diversity and Academic Personnel Development, highly support your intention to provide visibility for the experiences of researchers that identify as LGBTQ+, and we wish you a fruitful discussion and a successful event!