Diskriminierung am Fachbereich 03 Gesellschaftswissenschaften und Philosophie der Philipps-Universität Marburg

Discrimination because of actual or attributed features also occurs within universities. To ensure the implementation of the university’s guidelines and values of a learning and research environment which is characterised by mutual respect, open-mindedness, and equal opportunity it is necessary to unveil discriminatory practices as well as confront them through suitable actions. The aim of this report is to detect subjective experiences and observations of discrimination. Besides the features ethnic background, gender, sexual identity, disability, age, and religion/world view which are stated in § 1 of the Allgemeine Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (AGG) the socioeconomic background will be examined. The basis of this report is the first quantitative survey of experiences and observations of discrimination at Department 03 Social Sciences and Philosophy (FB03) at the Philipps-Universität Marburg (UMR). The survey was carried out on behalf of the department’s women’s and gender equality officers. The project-team carried out a standardised online-survey to understand subjective experiences of discrimination as well as how affected participants handle these which addressed every member of FB03. According to the results, approximately 20 percent of the participants have experienced and/or observed discrimination within the last twelve months. Furthermore, most of the affected participants are discriminated because of more than one actual or attributed feature. This result emphasises the need for intersectional analysis of discrimination within the complex of universities. Additionally, the results concerning how people cope with cases of discrimination illustrate that the university’s awareness as well as communication must be expanded. Especially the academic realm which includes lectures, seminars, consultations, or projects needs to be addressed by preventive measures. Lastly, counselling services are well-known by the survey’s participants but affected persons rarely consider using this opportunity for support. The study concludes that protection against discrimination has to be increased at the UMR. To achieve an environment where discrimination does not take place, every member of the university must be aware of discriminatory practices and biases. Further, communication and coordination of relevant actors needs to be improved.