Equal Opportunities

Our team consists of the equal opportunities commissioner (Esther Dudzik) and her two deputies (Alexandra Franz and Annette Daske). We are elected for a four year period, the next elections will take place in autumn 2021.

The team ist supported by Ms Traute Wöbse who coordinates our involvement in hiring processes.

We work under the equal opportunities implementation agreement (Ausführungsvereinbarung Gleichstellung, in German) for research funded jointly by the German federal and the state ministries, which is in turn based on the federal equal opportunities law (Bundesgleichstellungsgesetz).

This implementation agreement is adapted for the HZB (ger) and agreed with its funding agencies. It provides rules for the election of equal opportunities commisioners, the aims of our work, our rights of information and involvement in processes etc. It is complemented by a Gender Equality Plan which contains current statistics, target quotas for women in science, as well as measures to implement the targets.

If you are advertising a position you will be contacted by our secretary as soon as the advertisement is released online. She will tell you which equal opportunities commissioner is responsible for your position.

A matrix showing how each applicant fits the respective requirements of the advertised position is extremely helpful both for you and for us.

To compare scientific output use the "academic age", i.e. years since completion of the PhD minus times for child care, care of relatives, illness etc.

HZB offers its employees a range of measures to improve the work life balance:

• flexible working hours and flexi time balance
• agreements about telecommuting and home office
• family friendly meeting hours
• the possibility to reduce working hours due to family demands
• nursery places
• counselling and family-related agency services (benefit@work)
• Helmholtz-school holiday program

For more details please contact the personnel department's Office for Work and Life (OWL), the contact person is  Anja Seehrich.

In these cases there are several persons of trust you can contact, such as the equal opportunities commissioner (Gleichstellungsbeauftragte), the works council (Betriebsrat), the antidiscrimination commissioner (Antidiskriminierungsbeauftragte), the personnel department or your manager. Here is a full list of persons to contact in case of conflicts.

The equal opportunities commissioner has a duty to keep you information confidential. If you come to us with a complaint, we will first have a confidential meeting with you, and will discuss with you how to proceed.

A helpful brochure Leitfaden zum Thema sexuelle Belästigung (in German) can be found at the Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes (Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency).

The equal opportunity commissioner will support you if you have any questions or in cases of conflict. A good source of information about employment rules for the protection of pregnant woment and about parental leave is the personnel department's Office for Work and Life (OWL)  (contact person Anja Seehrich).

Here are some further links (mostly in German)

• Information on parental leave (Elterngeld und Elternzeit)
• Workplace protection of pregnant women (Informationen zum Mutterschutz)
• Rules how to handle time-limited contracts for scientists on parental leave (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz)
• HZB Information leaflet "Having a child during your PhD " (ge/en)
• HZB information leaflet "Finding a nursery place in Berlin"

There are several programs for women accessible for HZB employees, either internal or external via Helmholtz or the Berlin Universities: