Gender Equality and Diversity

Since the autumn semester of 2021, all-gender restrooms can be found on the floors 0, 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the Faculty of Theology building. In addition, the all-gender restrooms on floor 0 is barrier-free and equipped with a baby changing station.

The introduction of the all-gender restrooms stems from a project at the Faculty of Theology which was carried out in 2019/20 under the title «Gender and Sustainability. All-Gender Restrooms for the Faculty of Theology» (led by Dr. Maria Lissek, Institute of Historical Theology; supervised by Prof. Dr. Mathias Wirth, Institute of Systematic Theology). This project was part of the U Change series organised by the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences and was co-funded by the Vice-Rectorate for Quality at the University of Bern (Quality and Sustainable Development). Through disciplinary and transdisciplinary workshops and a faculty study day, the focus was placed on the introduction of all-gender toilets at the Faculty of Theology, and this was discussed in dialogue with people for whom all-gender toilets make their everyday lives easier. Over the course of the project, it became clear that there are theological and ethical grounds for introducing all-gender restrooms: trans and non-binary people, in particular, repeatedly experience discrimination and violence in gendered restrooms.

For a certain majority, the toilet may therefore not seem like an obvious place of exclusion. From the perspective of those affected, however, it is. Anyone who is unable to relieve themselves when out and about in public places is, in effect, exluded from public life. For these reasons, the initiative to redesignate the toilet facilities at the Faculty of Theology als all-gender restrooms was launched as a pilot project in cooperation with the university's Office for Equal Opportunities and the Building Development Office, as well as the Faculty of Theology. By introducing all-gender restrooms, the Faculty of Theology aims to contribute to social sustainability by providing space for people of all genders, making diversity visible and promoting equality for all, regardless of gender identity.

If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback on this topic or the non-binary toilet facilities, please feel free to contact Miriam Löhr (representative of the Intermediate Staff Association in the CED) by email: miriam.loehr@unibe.ch

Early-career researchers at post-doctoral level may submit applications to the CED for financial support for issues and activities relating to equality and diversity.

Purpose

Funding is available for activities that address aspects of equality and/or diversity in the context of academic work. In its Strategy 2030, the University of Bern adopts a broad concept of diversity as part of its Equal Opportunities Plan. In addition to striving for equality between women* and men*, further areas have been included which guide the CED’s work. These include:

• Sex
• Physical and mental disability
• Age
• ethnic background (language, nationality, skin colour, migration experience, religion)
• social background and -status
• sexual orientation and gender identity

Through this fund, the CED aims to support postdocs who require financial assistance in their academic work in relation to one or more of these categories. This can range from traditional support with care responsibilities, such as funding childcare to enable attendance at a conference, to covering the additional cost of a single room at a conference, which may be required for therapeutic reasons in cases of mental health conditions.

Criteria

Applications must be submitted by postdoctoral researchers at the Faculty of Theology ad personam for a specific purpose. The application must clearly demonstrate that the matter relates to one or more of the above-mentioned categories of diversity in relation to the applicant’s own academic work. The maximum amount that may be applied for is 400 CHF.

Application Procedure

Applications may be submitted at any time. In principle, these are processed during the lecture term. In cases of exceptional urgency, this must be indicated in the application. In such cases, the application will be processed even outside the lecture term.

The application must be submitted in writing (PDF format) to the Head of the CED, Prof. Dr David Plüss. All members of the Commission will decide on the application. The content of applications will be treated confidentially. The application must consist of two parts (maximum 1 page in total):

1. a brief description of the intended use and an explanation of how this relates to aspects of equality and diversity (maximum ½ page),
2. a rough breakdown of costs, showing what the requested funds are to be used for and, where applicable, from which other sources funds have also been applied for (and, where applicable, granted) (maximum ½ page).