How do employees experience inclusion at Fraunhofer?

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: Manuela, tell us a little about your career so far and your start at Fraunhofer: How did you get your current job? What were important decisions for you in your professional career?

Manuela: Right after graduating from high school, I started vocational training as an office management assistant at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft at the Institute Center Birlinghoven. I have enjoyed the wide range of topics and the culture here from the very beginning, and they have made my everyday working life varied and exciting to this day. This supportive environment has also benefited my career at Fraunhofer. I completed the professional experience year, which follows the vocational training, in the HR department. The position I currently hold as a project manager in the Integrated Project Management department was vacant at the time. I applied immediately and was ultimately offered the position. My everyday working life in project management is quite varied due to the many different and continually changing topics. I find it very exciting that I also get insights into science myself. Working on projects in close cooperation with our scientists and our institutes is a very wide-ranging field of activity that I still find very interesting today.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: topic of inclusion. What challenges have you faced during everyday work and how have you handled them?

Manuela: The challenges that I have to master in my everyday work are actually not different from those of other colleagues. In any case, my “disability” has not resulted in any particular challenges at any time. I am fortunate in that my lack of a lower right arm since birth is not an impairment in everyday life and therefore does not have any negative effects on my work.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: What is special about your work for Fraunhofer? How do you notice that inclusion is actually being practiced at your institute?

Manuela: For me, the prerequisite for genuine inclusion is teamwork. It is up to every individual here. Often it is the seemingly little things that show that inclusion is actually practiced. Inclusion should not be regarded as a “political requirement” but rather as a matter of course.

The vast majority of people only become affected by disability in the course of their lives; in other words, disabilities are not usually present from birth. For this reason, a local representative of employees with severe disabilities, such as the one we have here at Fraunhofer, is an important office when it comes to providing support and ensuring a active exchange of information. As far as I can tell, this office is comprehensively supported by Fraunhofer and represents the interests of employees with severe disabilities.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: What support have you experienced as part of your work for Fraunhofer? How does your institute ensure that you have optimum working conditions?

Manuela: I only need a keyboard with a flexible numeric keypad. So I actually have hardly any special requirements. If I required further support to manage my daily work, I would definitely receive anything necessary for it here at the institute.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: What changes would you like to see for people with disabilities to participate more in science?

Manuela: Since I work in administration myself, I don’t know all the challenges that people with disabilities face in scientific research. I hope that the local representatives of employees with severe disabilities are sufficiently involved and that each person with a disability is listened to. It would also be desirable for a somewhat higher amount of work to be accepted.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: What tips would you like to give other people with disabilities who wish to work at a research organization?

Manuela: Believe in yourself, take the plunge and go for it!

Tell us a little about your career so far and your start at Fraunhofer: How did you get your current job? What were important decisions for you in your professional career?

Marcus: After my doctoral studies in theoretical astrophysics and two years at the Fritz-Haber-Institut of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, I was looking for work with a focus on applied research and that was more concerned with the meta-questions of science. With the support of the ZAV (employers’ service for university graduates with severe disabilities), I found a position in the area of technology-oriented future research at Fraunhofer INT, which was a completely new field of work for me. I was hired in 2007 and have now worked there for 16 years. The most important decision in my professional career was to study astrophysics, which taught me analytical skills and interdisciplinary approaches. The versatility and openness of astrophysics, which requires competencies in various areas, still influences my working style today.

What challenges have you faced during everyday work and how have you handled them?

Marcus: As a deaf person who has worn cochlea implants (CI) since 2006 and 2008, my greatest challenge is communication. I often have to explain that I understand a lot with help of the CI but not everything, and that the technology also has its limits, for example, in noisy environments. A further hurdle is that I continually have to clarify that a hearing impairment is not associated with intellectual deficiency. It is important to distinguish between “not being able to hear” and “not being able to understand” − a differentiation that is often not made in our culture and especially not in the German language.

What is special about your work for Fraunhofer?

Marcus: On the one hand, it is the people. My colleagues at Fraunhofer INT and at Fraunhofer fascinate me with their knowledge, their intelligence and their passion for innovation. On the other hand, it is the field of activity. The work combines customer-oriented tasks with scientific practice and requires continuous adaptation to current scientific developments. Finding the right balance is a challenging but also enjoyable task. I am delighted to see how our work positively influences society and brings about changes.

How do you notice that inclusion is actually practiced at your institute?

Marcus: Small gestures, for example, reserving the best seat for me, are a matter of course with us at the institute. These automatisms show me that disability does not play a role in everyday life and inclusion is practiced in our team. Nevertheless, inclusion does not work all the time and everywhere. In my team, however, my colleagues sometimes don’t even notice that I am hearing-impaired anymore because the communication simply works.

What support have you experienced as part of your work for Fraunhofer? How does your institute ensure that you have optimum working conditions?

Marcus: In addition to the previously mentioned “best seat,” my colleagues make sure that everyone does not speak at once. An important aid during virtual meetings is a Bluetooth device (telephone mic) that transmits signals directly from the computer to my sound processors. The institute has provided me with this essential device, which makes discussions via Microsoft Teams much easier. My requirements are generally modest, which might be a slight advantage; I don’t require any ramps, for example.

What changes would you like to see for people with disabilities to participate more in science?

Marcus: An initial step is to raise awareness for the special challenges of people with disabilities in scientific fields of work, starting at universities. There is often a lack of suitable arrangements or a lack of facilitation culture. For example, for people with hearing impairments to better access sign-language and speech-to-text interpreters during lectures, as is common in the USA. Creative solutions such as special hand signs for technical terms are also helpful. Inclusion creates added value for the entire scientific system and the whole team through new perspectives and improved cooperation.

What tips would you like to give other people with disabilities who wish to work at a research organization?

Marcus: There are actually three tips that I can give:

1. Don’t give up, because the joy of science is worth it.
2. Communicate openly and honestly about your own disability and your own needs without hiding or downplaying them.
3. Try to network with other severely disabled university graduates and support each other, whether through empowerment, tips or exchanging information about common challenges.

I am deeply convinced that diversity, whether due to disabilities, sex or ethnicity, is a genuine added value. Diversity is essential for innovation and the development of new ideas.

Tell us a little about your career so far and your start at Fraunhofer: How did you get your current job? What were important decisions for you in your professional career?

Kristin: From 2000 to 2003, I completed my vocational training as an office communication assistant, after which I was employed at Fraunhofer FOKUS until I began my economics studies. After my studies, I worked in controlling until my career led me to the HR department at Fraunhofer FOKUS in 2018. My decision to study at university has had a particular influence on my career.

What challenges have you faced during your everyday work and how have you handled them?

Kristin: In my professional career, I have fortunately not encountered any significant obstacles that could have slowed me down on my career path.

What is special about your work for Fraunhofer? How do you notice that inclusion is actually practiced at your institute?

Kristin: Being different is not an issue for us at the institute. Inclusion is part of everyday life here, especially on an interpersonal level, and it is therefore a matter of course. Inclusion in practice can also be seen in small but important details such as the barrier-free design of the underground parking garage and elevators, which optimally take my needs into account.

What support have you experienced as part of your work for Fraunhofer? How does your institute ensure that you have optimum working conditions?

Kristin: The local representative of employees with severe disabilities and my supervisor have always been on my side and supported me, for example, when applying for equivalent treatment. I don’t need any other special aids to master my everyday working life.

What changes would you like to see for people with disabilities to participate more in science?

Kristin: People with disabilities should become braver when it comes to contributing their skills in the primary labor market. By focusing on individual strengths and knowledge, we promote an inclusive work environment. We should provide such encouragement.

What tips would you like to give other people with disabilities who wish to work at a research organization?

Kristin: Concentrate on what you can do well and not on your limitations. The employees at Fraunhofer are very open and helpful!