The organizational team around Prof. Dr. Axel S. Merseburger (UKSH)Marion Joppien (UKSH), Claudia Haase-Achilles (UKSH) and Dr. Daphne Reim (TH Lübeck) welcomed the participants with a brief review of the ten modules with a total of around 600 participants and nine different speakers on topics such as “What does gender mean for my team?”, “Gender variant people in medicine”, “Gender aspects in research and teaching” and “Gender bias in selection processes.”
Achieving more together
The equal opportunities officer at the Lübeck University of Technology, Dr. Daphne Reim, in her review, emphasized that the cross-institutional exchange was very enriching and that today’s event was once again particularly suitable for personal exchange with everyone interested and for making new contacts.
Gender incompetence is no longer affordable
Many found the lecture to be particularly insightful Flensburg professor Dr. Tabea Scheel. Using clear figures and facts, she showed how gender competence can and should work as a game changer. Their conclusion: In view of demographic developments, the shortage of skilled workers and the changing values, our society can no longer afford gender incompetence.
“More than a nice-to-have”
The President of the Lübeck University of Technology, Dr. Muriel Helbig, summarized in the panel discussion: “It is important to be aware of the very real, negative, social consequences of a one-sided (male-dominated) point of view. Equality is much more than a nice to have; it is also economically essential for our society, for example. It has an important role, especially at a technical university – in the development of products, the testing of new technologies, the design of living and working spaces, etc..”
MSD Sharp & Dohme GmbH, sponsor of the final event, presented the development towards a gender-competent organization in short lectures and used concrete practical examples to illustrate which initiatives already exist at MSD. Harriet Heise from Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) moderated the event.