Multiple Barriers on the Path to Scientific Excellence: Empirical Approaches to Solutions

This project explores the retrospective and planned career paths of researchers at BUA institutions through a survey that represents different levels of seniority (doctoral students, junior faculty, professors). In addition to career paths and a focus on mental health and burnout, the project assesses attitudes towards 'Diversity, Objectivity, and Meritocracy in Science (DOMWiss survey)' among researchers. These attitudes form the normative framework in which unequal career developments and prospective career planning are embedded. Discrimination experiences and the attitudes of marginalized researchers themselves (e.g., internalized stigmatization, negative self-image) are considered as psychological mechanisms. The context-specific nature of social inequality and the imperative of intersectional research on justice are central to this research. The complexity of social positioning is addressed through the participatory development of German-language survey instruments.

Project Leader: Prof. Dr. Mirjam Fischer, Humboldt-University of Berlin

..on the path towards greater diversity and gender equity in research, teaching, and healthcare within university medicine and life sciences.

"Diversity is not only a scientific topic for me but also a personal passion and a central concern. My scientific career and clinical work in psychiatry, psychotherapy, and sexual medicine have taken me deeper into the subject of diversity. Working with patients from diverse backgrounds and identities has encouraged me to engage more deeply with the challenges and needs of marginalized groups. From my perspective, diversity is not only an ethical obligation and a societal reality but also a valuable asset for science and medical research. By including the different experiences and perspectives of people, we can gain new insights and approaches to complex issues and better address the specific needs of all individuals."

Project Leader: Dr. Pichit Buspavanich, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

How can diversity policies and anti-discrimination work at universities be designed with a critical, collaborative, and knowledge-based approach?

The universities in Berlin are required to develop a concept for anti-discrimination and diversity, identify the causes of disadvantage, and design and implement measures to eliminate individual as well as structural barriers. Furthermore, the establishment of an advisory and complaints office, as well as the appointment of diversity and anti-discrimination officers, is planned. The work of the junior research group is situated in the context of this development. The focus of the project is on the dimension of discrimination critique, which is normatively understood as the foundation of diversity policies and anti-discrimination work. The project seeks to explore how experiences of discrimination and the associated knowledge and capabilities, as well as marginalized perspectives, bodies of knowledge, and voices, can serve as starting points for transforming universities into inclusive and democratic spaces for education and science.

Project Leader: Dr. Aline Oloff, Technical University of Berlin

Project leader: Dr. Sarah Bellows-Blakely, Freie Universität Berlin