Contact Press / Media
Kathrin Kirschner
Diversity and inclusion advisor
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Hansastr. 27c
80686 Munich, Germany
Phone +49 89 1205-2145
Mobile +49-151-5909-2176
Fax +49-151-5909-2176
People with disabilities are still underrepresented in the scientific research landscape, especially in scientific careers. We want to change that!
Our goal is to create career opportunities in science and research that will empower everyone, with or without disabilities, to develop their own personal potential. That’s why we’re moving toward greater inclusion in the scientific research landscape. To achieve this and to raise awareness of inclusion in science and research for people with disabilities, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and Max Planck Society launched the Inclusion Initiative in 2023, this has also been endorsed and is supported by all ten Alliance organizations.
The initiative aims to identify development potential and strategic measures across organizations that promote sustainable inclusion and to improve career opportunities and inclusive work environments in science and research for people with disabilities. To achieve this goal, a host of visible and invisible barriers still need to be broken down and obstacles eliminated. In 2023, the initiative’s core building blocks included an internal strategy workshop to reflect on current systemic challenges and barriers for talented people with disabilities and a careers event where we shared information about careers and development opportunities in our organizations for those people. This also facilitated direct contact with role models from the field of research and administration. The strategy workshop and the careers event were accompanied by a social media campaign to set a shared example for a more inclusive and equal work culture in science and research for people with disabilities. The roadmap of initiatives developed during the strategy workshop has supported the various Alliance organizations since 2024 and serves as a guideline for concrete steps to remove barriers and improve the inclusion of people with disabilities in science.
The first part of this event provided an overview of theory and practice from individual Alliance organizations depicting the current situation for the inclusion of people with disabilities in science and research. The second part of the workshop examined the current challenges and opportunities for the inclusion of people with disabilities in the current scientific system. The aim was to bring together the expertise of these employees and to develop starting points for strategic measures to promote inclusion while taking diverse and target group-specific perspectives into account.
The careers event organized by the Inclusion Initiative on December 4 therefore focused on the subject of Work and career opportunities for people with disabilities in science and research. The aim was to create a forum where research organizations can post information about career opportunities specific to their organization and hold open and introductory talks with talented people with disabilities. Those attending could learn more about various work and career opportunities in the organizations by visiting a series of virtual and interactive lectures and thus gain insight into the various fields of work in science and research. A variety of discussion formats fostered personal exchanges with other participants as well as with managers and employees with and without disabilities from seven participating Alliance organizations.
Diversity and the inclusion of people with disabilities in science and research is an important subject that deserves more attention and, above all, public visibility.
Against this backdrop, the Inclusion Initiative was accompanied by a social media campaign across the organizations. The aim of this joint campaign was to raise awareness of the subject of inclusion in science and research, to improve the visibility of people with disabilities and to set an example for working inclusively.
The social media campaign started in the fall of 2023. Several social media campaigns were conducted over three months as well as on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3, 2023) to carry the idea of inclusion into the research landscape. This covered first impressions of the strategy workshop and careers events to inspiring stories about the career paths of people with disabilities who play a key role in driving innovation, research and administration.
The roadmap, which was developed in the strategy workshop and with support from myAbility Social Enterprise GmbH, provides guidance for the various Alliance organizations. The roadmap defines five central fields of action:
1. Awareness of the subject of disabilities
2. Inclusive organizational culture
3. Accessibility within organizations
4. Inclusive employer
5. Structures and overall conditions
These action areas are a basis for the creation of inclusive and accessible career and participation opportunities for people with disabilities within the science landscape. Each science organization can use this to identify organization-specific steps as well as to plan and initiate corresponding implementation steps in 2024/2025.
Roadmap for the Inclusion Initiative
The 2024 roadmap shows the vision and the goals of science organizations in the field of inclusion. This covers the subjects of raising awareness, organizational culture, accessibility, being an inclusive employer, and structures. Accessible information is in the following link.
Continuation of the Inclusion Initiative in 2025
In addition to the organization-specific implementation of concrete steps to improve accessibility and the inclusion of people with disabilities in science, 2025 will focus on networking. The aim is to develop the initiative into a permanent network with regular discussions and joint activities. Through a rolling system, the Leibniz Association and the Helmholtz Association Leibniz Association and the Helmholtz Association have been in charge of the initiative since 2025.
Contact partners:
Alexandra Schweiger
Leibniz-Gemeinschaft
Chausseestraße 111
10115 Berlin
Phone +49 30 206049 617
Email: schweiger@leibniz-gemeinschaft.de
Anna Born
Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft
Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Str. 2
10178 Berlin
Phone +49 30 206329 16
Email: anna.born@helmholtz.de
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
German Research Foundation (DFG)