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Responsibility

Supporting Diversity

We see the diversity among members of the WU community as one of our strengths, and as a contributing factor to our success. This is why we celebrate diversity.

Making Women Visible

Only about 16% of the biographies published in the German version of the Wikipedia online encyclopedia are of women. On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2021, we set ourselves the ambitious goal of increasing the number of women represented there and launched the WU edit-a-thon. Nineteen women, including WU Rector Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger, rose to the challenge. They identified twelve women whose wide-reaching impact has transcended time and wrote their long overdue Wikipedia entries.

“Women in leadership positions are important role models, so it is crucial to boost their public visibility.”
Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger, Rector and participant in the WU edit-a-thon

Promoting Equal Opportunities

How high is the percentage of women in WU’s senior faculty? How many men graduate with a WU degree? These and other, similar questions are answered in the annual Equal Opportunities Report. Like earlier reports, this year’s Equal Opportunities Report shows that the percentage of women drops in higher qualification levels. Using targeted measures, we have been able to increase the number of women at the professor and associate professor levels.

WU Mitarbeiterinnen verbringen eine Pause im Freien (c) Raimo Rudi Rumpler

Internationality as a Success Factor

What does internationality mean to each of us on a personal level and for our everyday work at an international university? How to we react to things that feel “foreign” and how do we define our own concept of “normal”? Why is internationality seen as a positive thing but having a migrant background is not? These and similar questions were discussed at the “WU matters. WU talks.” event “I have nothing against foreigners, but …” The panel of prominent international speakers included:

  • Marie-Thérèse Claes, head of WU’s Institute for Gender and Diversity in Organizations
  • Hubert von Goisern, a popular Austrian songwriter and social critic who travels the world
  • Majid Mgamis, associate professor of English literature at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
  • Shalini Randeria, rector of the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna and professor of social anthropology and sociology at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva

For a WU Free from Discrimination

WU wants to provide a positive, motivating, and discrimination-free work and study environment in which all members of the WU community can feel safe and work together in mutual trust and equality. A new brochure describes what characterizes respectful cooperation at WU, explains how we as an institution take action against discrimination, and lists where help is available for anyone who needs it.

Next:
Spicing Things Up with New Programs