Today, 23.05.2022 is the 11th German Diversity Day, under the motto “Diversity connects".

Our message for this day is:

Diversity connects us at the GFZ in our daily work of researching and enabling research: People with differences in their ethnic and social origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, religion and worldview, age and physical characteristics.

Susanne Buiter, Scientific Director at GFZ, states:

“Diversity Day is once again an opportunity to show our diversity. But it should also remind us that as an international research centre we must not slacken in our ambitions to achieve and enable more diversity.

For only if we respect the different perspectives and the diversity of all minds and hands with their different skills and experiences, and promote and fruitfully combine them, can we master the tasks we have set ourselves: to make a relevant contribution to researching our dynamic Earth, its past, present and future - for the preservation of a world worth living in under global change.”

Beate Keßler, Head of Human Resources at the GFZ, says:

“The GFZ employs around 1,500 people including scientific guests. Many people at the GFZ bring international experience with them or acquire it through their work here together with people from a variety of cultures, diverse research disciplines and cooperation partners worldwide. The affiliation of the RIFS (Research Institute for Sustainability) to the GFZ on 1 January 2023 and the integration of the RIFS into the Helmholtz Association with more than 150 new colleagues will further complement our already existing diversity. This brings exciting opportunities and challenges at the same time.

Our goal remains unchanged: To ensure a sustainable, gender-sensitive, tolerant and non-discriminatory culture by fostering the exchange of diverse perspectives to further strengthen scientific cooperation and innovation.”
 

‘Charta der Vielfalt’

As a commitment to diversity at our centre and at the same time as an obligation to further promote it, the GFZ has signed the ‘Charta der Vielfalt’. This ‘Diversity Charter’ is an initiative of the Federal Government and of now more than 4,900 employers.