Developments in the USA and their significance for gender studies, equality and research at German universities

In this lecture, Kathrin Zippel analyses the political attacks on gender, queer, race and anti-discrimination research and the anti-‘woke’ movement in the USA in the context ft he attacks on academic freedom – particularly under the second Trump administration. The focus is on how equality measures, academic authority and institutional autonomy are increasingly under pressure. Specific examples will be used to show how programmes on diversity, inclusion and anti-racism – as well as research fields labelled as ‘woke’ – are being systematically weakened by legislative initiatives and targeted interventions in research funding, for example at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

With a view to Germany, the lecture asks to what extent comparable patterns – for example in the debate on gender-equitable language or in attacks on gender studies and equality policies – are already visible. At the same time, it invites the audience to initiate strategic university considerations: How can equality, diversity and academic freedom be further developed in a future-oriented way in the German university context?

From 1:00 p.m.

• Welcome
• Equal Opportunities and Gender Equality: Review and Outlook by the Vice-Rector and the Central Gender Equality Officer
• Keynote Lecture by Prof. Dr. Kathrin Zippel: “Science and Diversity Under Pressure? Developments in the USA and Their Significance for Gender Studies, Equality, and Research at German Universities”
• Presentation of the Jenny Gusyk Gender Equality Awards

From 3:00 p.m.

• Get-together in the foyer
   

The 12th GenderForum centered around the keynote by Teresa Bücker entitled “Temporal Justice: A Question of Power and Freedom – Also in Academia”. Bücker highlighted how unequal access to time shapes societal power structures and has a particular impact on academia. She emphasized that a lack of time is not merely an individual issue, but a structural one that requires solutions at the societal level. A new politics of time, she argued, could help make academia more equitable, inclusive, and free.

The 11th GenderForum shed light on intersectional perspectives. Gabi Rosenstreich (Berlin) gave a presentation titled "Intersectional Gender Equality Work - An Introduction." Following that, various intersectionality-oriented practical examples from the University of Cologne were presented (Susanne Groth: Doctoral positions for female scientists with disabilities, Phuong Glaser: International Female Scholars Mentoring, Silke Hackenesch and Liane Bächler: Maternity Network in Science).

At the 10th GenderForum, the focus was on academic freedom. Professor Dr. Andrea Geier, Director of the Center for Postcolonial and Gender Studies (CePoG) at the University of Trier, presented the dispute over academic freedom in her keynote speech, elaborating on the dynamics of debate, thematic clusters, and the understanding of freedom.

The focus of the 9th GenderForum was on the topic of family-friendliness at universities under pandemic conditions, which CHE Managing Director Prof. Dr. Frank Ziegele introduced and presented the results of the CHE study "The path to a family-oriented university - lessons learned from the Corona pandemic". Challenges of the last few months were highlighted and recommendations for action for the university were derived from them, e.g. in the areas of culture, making offers more flexible, study and working conditions, university management and personnel development.

The 8th Gender Forum took place completely online for the first time, due to the current situation. This year's keynote speech was held by Prof.in Ute Klammer, Managing Director of the Institute for Work and Qualification and Professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen. With her talk"Equality Policy at Universities. What do professors know and how do they act?" she gave an overview of principles and developments within equality policy at universities in general.

For the 7th time, interested parties and actors from the field of equal opportunities accepted the invitation to the GenderForum.
This year's keynote speech was held by René_ Rain Hornstein on the topic of current challenges for gender equality, which will be faced by universities in connection with the introduction of the 3rd gender option. Special attention was paid to the specific perspective on trans*emancipatory higher education policy.

The originally planned keynote lecture had to be cancelled due to illness and instead four high chairs were placed in front of the audience, inviting an open discussion on the topic of anti-feminism in the university context. People from various areas of the university took part in this discussion, which provided exciting insights and a lively debate.

The keynote lecture "Unconscious Bias - Recognizing and Changing Unconscious Prejudices" by Jessica Gedamu, Director for Organizational Development and Corporate Clients at the European Academy for Women in Business and Politics (EAF Berlin) inspired the large audience of over 75 visitors* to reflect and discuss attitudes and attitudes towards groups of people, especially in the context of recruitment processes.

The keynote speech was held by Prof.' Dr. h.c. Jutta Allmendinger, President of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) and Professor of Educational Sociology and Labour Market Research at the HU Berlin, on the topic of "Excellence and (Gender) Justice". She named current problems at the universities, e.g. in the areas of personnel recruitment and compatibility, reported on her own experiences and gave valuable suggestions for changes and changes in perspective.