Diversity
The term diversity is derived from the Latin word “diversitas” and refers to the difference or variety of people and ways of life. As a rule, it includes various diversity dimensions or characteristics, such as gender identity, (ascribed) origin, sexual orientation, health impairments and disabilities, social origin, age or religion, and others. It is important to note that these characteristics are not natural, but socially constructed and thus produced by social dynamics and practices. Diversity implies a positive and appreciative perspective on the diversity of people and groups.
Diversity work at universities aims to transfer this appreciative attitude toward the diversity of our society to its own institution and accordingly aims to achieve a diverse composition of its members and staff. This also includes breaking down existing barriers to access and inhibiting disadvantages in the university context. Diversity work must therefore always go hand in hand with anti-discrimination work - these are two sides of the same coin, so to speak.
Diversity at the University of Potsdam
The promotion of equal opportunities and diversity is part of the University of Potsdam's self-image. For this reason, the university will continue to ensure in the coming years that students, teachers, and employees from technology and administration have the same opportunities and development possibilities and are protected from discrimination, regardless of age, ethnic origin, disability or impairment, gender, sexual identity, religion or ideology, and nationality. The UP is a cosmopolitan and tolerant university that resolutely opposes racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination.
The University of Potsdam sees the promotion of equal opportunities as feasible through the elimination of stereotyping and the development of diversity-sensitive structures and a gender-sensitive culture. In the University Development Plan (only available in German), it has therefore committed itself to developing a university-specific and organizational culture-developing diversity strategy that will enable the systematic analysis of structures and the development of an equal-opportunity, family-friendly, international, and diversity-acknowledging university culture. The University of Potsdam's diversity strategy serves as the basis for the University's diversity and anti-discrimination work, formulates its guiding principles and the underlying understanding of diversity, and is the guiding principle for all diversity-related activities at the University of Potsdam. Participation in the Stifterverband's "Vielfalt gestalten" (Shaping Diversity) diversity audit represents a decisive step toward implementing these goals.