Source: Freepik
This post concludes our blog series “Women in IT”, which we have published over the last few months. In the previous posts, we have already highlighted the challenges, success stories and initiatives for women in IT. Today, we would like to present the Women at the IT Center event, which is not only another highlight in our series, but also further promotes networking and equality in the IT sector.
Insight Into Gender Equality Work at RWTH Aachen University
To coincide with the United Nations’ “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women”, the IT Center held an event on November 25, 2024 on the topic of “Women at the IT Center”. The aim was to offer women from the various departments of the IT Center a space to exchange ideas and network, to learn from each other and to discuss the promotion of equality at the IT Center. We are delighted that the event was so popular and that so many women attended. This underlines the great interest in the topics and the exchange.
Source: Own Illustration
At the beginning of the event, Jana Zimmermann, Equal Opportunities Officer at RWTH Aachen University, and Kaja Köhnle, coordinator of the project Career Advancement and Networking of Young Female Scientists, welcomed the participants and gave a comprehensive overview of equal opportunities work at RWTH Aachen University. The Equal Opportunities Office team is committed to creating a fair, inclusive and non-discriminatory environment for all students and staff at the university. The website of the Equal Opportunities Office provides an overview of the key areas of activity, which also include the compatibility of work, studies and family.
Equality and Anti-discrimination: Important Topics for Every Workplace
The central topic of the presentation was equal treatment and anti-discrimination protection within the meaning of the General Act on Equal Treatment and the State Act on Equal Treatment. In this context, the topic of microaggressions was also addressed, i.e. unconscious or conscious discriminatory statements or actions that relate to a person’s group membership. The central Equal Opportunities Officers offer professional and confidential advising on cases of discrimination for all university members and also offer lectures at institutes or teams on prevention.
Another focus was on the continuing challenges of the underrepresentation of women: The proportion of women in technical professions is comparatively low, which is also reflected in figures from the IT Center. Nevertheless, the IT Center is already on the right track, as the discussions showed: there is a positive trend in the proportion of women, particularly in the scientific field. With the help of the gender equality plans and the targets set therein, the proportion of women is to be further increased and more women are to be attracted to technical and scientific careers at the IT Center.
Networks and Exchange Among Women at the IT Center
The event highlighted the relevance of women-specific networks at RWTH and beyond. These networks not only offer valuable sources of information, but also serve as a platform for professional support and feedback. At the end of the event, the participants had the opportunity to exchange ideas at various themed bar tables. Topics included salaries, work-life balance, networking, women in management positions and career opportunities. The ideas and suggestions collected are to be incorporated into future networking activities in order to further promote exchange among women at the IT Center.
Outlook: On the Road to Greater Equality
The event was an important step towards more equality and networking for women at the IT Center. It shows the high demand and strong participation, which reflect the interest in these topics. Even if equality for all genders requires further measures, a clear signal was sent out on this day: Women at the IT Center support each other and are visible. The open exchange, the exciting discussion and the diverse conversations showed that we are heading in the right direction. The collection of topics during the event offers a wide range of content for further events, where space for exchange can be created and the positions of women at the IT Center can be further strengthened.
Responsible for the content of this article are Hania Eid, Malak Mostafa and Arlinda Ujkani.
Leave a Reply