Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
For us, diversity management means openly appreciating, recognizing and productively harnessing the diversity and uniqueness of all our employees. This includes equal par-ticipation and development — regardless of ethnic origin, gender, religion, ideology, disabilities, age or sexual identity. Creating a work environment where all employees have the same opportunities for participation, careers and development is an im-portant concern for us. Therefore, the objective of diversity management is to identify aspects of diversity that are relevant for success, and to harness different individual areas of expertise, qualities, attitudes and cultural backgrounds. Diversity management at Fraunhofer is based on an integrative approach and consti-tutes a cross-sectional activity relevant to all HR functions. Consequently, issues relat-ing to diversity are included in strategic areas at the outset, and both policies and measures for implementing diversity are integrated into existing structures. We are expanding our diversity management in stages, in a comprehensive, holistic fashion. This means diversity management is integrated into all current strategic areas − be it in career and expertise management, training of management staff or health man-agement. As a result, diversity management has become a task affecting all domains, and will be taken into account and promoted across departments and disciplines in the long term. In particular, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft focuses on the following action areas: equal employment opportunities, work-life balance, inclusion and international HR work.
Equal employment opportunities
Gender equality in the workplace is an important company objective in terms of ensuring long-term innovation, team expertise and scientific excellence. We focus on recruiting female students and graduates through a variety of measures, such as the Science Campus event, in order to encourage more young women to develop an interest in doctoral studies and starting careers at Fraunhofer Institutes. Advancing the careers of female scientists and managers is a particularly central aspect of our diversity management strategy. The TALENTA career program, which facilitates structured career development, makes an important contribution toward increasing the proportion of women in management positions. At a structural level, measures such as regular monitoring and internal and external communications, as well as the raising of awareness regarding unconscious bias and gender-sensitive language have also been implemented with the aim of driving cultural change. more info
Work-life balance
Through a variety of measures aimed at supporting employees in reconciling their private and professional lives, and the Fraunhofer family logo, we create attractive working conditions for women and men so they can achieve a good work-life balance. The Fraunhofer family logo is awarded to institutes that stand out during an internal certification process for their exceptional, family-friendly working conditions. Further information on the awarding-winning institutes’ offers for promoting good work-life balance can be found on their websites. more info
Inclusion
For us, inclusion means that people with and without disabilities can work together and conduct research at Fraunhofer naturally and on equal terms. Going beyond integration, we aim to identify fields of action and develop very concrete measures to facilitate and promote career entry and cooperation at Fraunhofer.
How do employees experience inclusion at Fraunhofer? more info
International personnel work
International mobility is becoming increasingly important for science and research at Fraunhofer. International HR work is intended firstly to support employees who, as part of international projects or collaborations, go abroad for a certain period of time and receive further training in the process. Secondly, it is intended to help foreign employees settle in, start their work smoothly and become part of Fraunhofer. In this way, global knowledge-sharing and international networking are actively strengthened and expanded.
