The two-day conference in the Schlossaula brought together experts from academia, university practice, research funding and politics to develop ideas for a forward-looking gender equality policy.
"For us, intersectional equality policy means not looking at different dimensions of discrimination in isolation, but rather systematically considering how they are intertwined," emphasized Prof. Dr. Susanne Menzel-Riedl, President of Osnabrück University, in her welcoming address. "As a university, we have a responsibility to create equal opportunity structures - in appointment procedures, in research funding, in studies and teaching as well as in our management instruments. The dialog initiative is an important step towards developing viable concepts for this."
Lower Saxony's Science Minister Falko Mohrs also underlined the importance of the topic: "Equality means more than gender equality - it is about thinking about different reasons for disadvantages together, such as origin, disability or sexual identity. The aim must be to identify and remove structural barriers in science and research. This is the prerequisite for an excellent, resilient, competitive and democratic science system that includes diverse perspectives."
Dr. DorisHayn, Chairwoman of lakog niedersachsen, recalled in her welcoming address that a deliberate campaign for equality had been launched with the Dialogue Initiative in 2007. Since then, gender equality work at universities has become more professional. At the same time, she emphasized that although equality has always been a contested field, the level of hostility has increased significantly. Against this background, a clear commitment to Social Equity, participation and protection against discrimination at universities is needed today more than ever.
The conference offered insights into the project status to date and provided professional impetus through two keynotes: Arn Sauer from the Federal Foundation for Gender Equality spoke on "Intersectionality and gender diversity in science and higher education - how we can draw courage from failure". On the second day, Birgitt Riegraf (University of Paderborn) spoke on the framework conditions for a successful intersectional equality policy.
The central element of the conference was the so-called "thinking spaces" - interactive exchange formats on specific fields of action: Personnel selection and development, research funding, equal opportunities in studies and teaching as well as equality data and controlling. Under the guidance of proven experts, examples of good practice were discussed, challenges were identified and perspectives for the further development of an overall concept were developed. The results will be incorporated into the further process of the dialog initiative.
"Shaping our gender equality work in an intersectional way is a challenge on an individual and structural level," said Dr. SabineJösting, Equal Opportunities Officer at Osnabrück University and project manager of the 4th Dialogue Initiative. "It is important to counter subjective and structural resistance, to remain open to the complexity of different experiences of discrimination and to further develop existing equality measures. The inherent complexity of the topic must be transferred to a practical level - a challenging task, but one that we can successfully accomplish together."
"This conference does not mark a conclusion, but takes place during the project process. The perspectives and results discussed here will be incorporated into the final recommendations for action for an intersectional equality policy in the university context. It is therefore worthwhile for universities to follow the further course of the project closely - the publication of the recommendations for action is planned for fall 2026," says project coordinator Svenja Stegemann-Holberg from Osnabrück University.
The event was moderated by Anneliese Niehoff from the University of Bremen.
The dialog initiative is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture and implemented in partnership with the Lower Saxony State University Conference (LHK) and lakog niedersachsen.
Further information for the media:
Svenja Stegemann-Holberg, Osnabrück University
Equal Opportunities Office
