Diversity Strategy
Addressing diversity has become a central task of university development. ETH Zurich has also been working on a diversity strategy since September 2021. With the "Diversity Strategy", ETH Zurich wants to underline its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Innovation and creativity in research and teaching, as well as the quality of studies and everyday work, thrive on the unprejudiced coexistence of diverse individuals. The recognition and respectful appreciation of this individuality is part of our daily work at the university, underpinned by human rights and legal foundations such as the Swiss Gender Equality Act as well as the ETH Zurich mission statement and the Code of Conduct Respect. To implement this consistently at all levels of the university, ETH Zurich will develop a diversity strategy together with all its members.
The aim is to establish and live an open university culture together with all members of the university. A culture where everyone experiences a strong sense of belongingness, where everyone is treated with the utmost respect and where everyone is appreciated for and encouraged to maintain what makes them unique.
The previous orientation in the context of diversity at ETH Zurich accentuated individual core dimensions of diversity. To this end, specific concepts and strategy papers were developed, backed up with measures, which were implemented. These include, for example: the Gender Action Plan, the project "Barrier-free at ETH Zurich", the Respect Campaign or the Code of Conduct. Such a modular approach to diversity has so far proven to be useful, as individual underrepresented target groups could be specifically supported. However, it must be noted that too few connections between the core dimensions and target groups have been considered for this approach to achieve what a comprehensive diversity strategy would.
In developing its first diversity strategy, ETH Zurich is therefore concentrating on an all-inclusive approach. Central to this, is the appreciation of the great potential that a diverse community gives our university.
Under the management of the Vice President's Office for Personnel Development and Leadership (VPPL) and the ETH Diversity-Team, a core team was formed in a first step during the winter of 2021, composed of members from various units of ETH Zurich. The core team will be accompanied by a sounding board during the strategy creation process.
Members of the core team:
- Raphaela Hettlage, ETH Diversity
- Sara van Leeuwen, VPPL staff
- Peter Dorthe, Development & Leadership
- Lorena Coletti, Career Center
- Xenia Zingg, ETH Diversity (since November 2022)
Former members of the core team:
- Betty Friedrich-Grube, Rectorate and VPPL staff (until November 2022)
- Mitra Tavakoli, ETH Diversity (October 2022 to August 2023)
The needs and visions of the various interest groups and units of ETH Zurich will be incorporated into the strategy through a participatory process. The following groups and units are to be involved:
- Other Vice Presidencies and Rectorate
- Office for Faculty Affairs
- Corporate Communications
- The Administrative Department for Educational Development and Technology (LET)
- Technical administrative staff
- Representatives & diversity groups of the departments
- VSETH, AVETH, University Assembly, DVK, SK, Peko
- rETHink
- Different student and university associations
Q3 2021: Creation of a core team who is to develop, write and run the consultation process for the strategy.
Q3 2022: Establishment of a wider sounding board who is to give feedback and guidance at regular interviews. The sounding board consists of a large group of people from a diverse range of departments and functions within ETH Zurich.
Q4 2021 - Q1 2023: Benchmarking with various peer universities within and outside Europe.
Q1 2022 - Q3 2022: Needs analysis process to determine the needs and expectations of the departments and offices at ETH regarding the strategy.
Q1 2023: Walk-in event inviting all ETH members to give their feedback and share their ideas and recommendations for the strategy.
Q2 2023: Finalisation of a vision and goals for the strategy based on inputs and feedback from the Needs analysis process, the walk-in event and additional formal and informal soundings.
Q3 2023 - Q4 2023: Writing of the first draft.
Q1 2024: Sounding of the first draft with the wider sounding board and finalisation and alignment with the external pageETH Domain Diversity Strategy.
Q1 2024 - Q3 2024: Running of the consultation process for the strategy.
Q4 2024: Strategy finalisation and communication.
In recent months, significant progress has been made in developing a comprehensive diversity strategy that will establish a solid foundation for organizational change. The team is currently working on formulating the strategy. The consultation phase is expected to take place in winter 2023. During this phase, all departments will have the chance to provide feedback and propose revisions. The final version will be crafted based on this input.