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Gender Equality Plan
Equal opportunity is the cornerstone of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation’s efforts to promote gender equality and an essential component of the organization’s overall culture. In accordance with the requirements of the Federal Gender Equality Act, the Foundation develops a Gender Equality Plan, which is regularly updated and revised.
The SPK’s rules of procedure stipulate that equality for all people is a guiding principle of the Foundation’s work. The advancement of women is a particular priority in this regard. Elected equality officers and equality plans have been well-established institutions and tools for implementation for many years. Nevertheless, equality is an issue that requires constant reorientation and adaptation to societal developments. For this reason, the Foundation’s leadership, as well as the leadership of the individual institutions, expressly support the call for a Gender Equality Plan, which is also a prerequisite for participation in the European Union’s research funding program, Horizon Europe.
The gender equality plans of both the Foundation and the individual institutions form the basis for gender equality efforts and the associated equal opportunities. A brief overview of the requirements for an EU Gender Equality Plan is intended to provide initial guidance.
Commitment of the Foundation's Leadership
The Foundation’s leadership is committed to gender equality as a key driver of the Foundation’s core mission. Four elected gender equality officers and their deputies advise the Executive Board and the management teams on all gender equality-related matters concerning personnel, social, and organizational issues. The equal opportunity officers are part of the administrative office, operate independently in their role, and participate in all relevant committee meetings.
Equal opportunity efforts are documented in six equal opportunity plans, each tailored to the specific needs of the respective institution. The equal opportunity plans are available on the intranet for all Foundation employees to view at any time.
Resources for Gender Equality
The equal opportunity officers are exempt from other duties to focus on their work, with a total of three and a half full-time positions allocated to them. In addition, the work of the President’s equal opportunity officers is supported by an administrative staff member, the necessary resources, and a budget for training and business travel.
Data Collection and Monitoring
The gender equality plans contain comprehensive statistics. These statistics illustrate the gender distribution across various parameters. Currently, in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Gender Equality Act, the data is reviewed every two years and the plan is completely revised every four years. The frequency of data reviews will be adjusted to an annual review.
In line with the trends in the figures, both the foundation management and the facility directors will ensure compliance with the Federal Equality Act and accelerate the implementation of the measures described in the equality plans.
Training to raise awareness of gender equality issues
The Foundation has a long-established leadership program consisting of three modules. In particular, the “Role as a Leader” module raises awareness of non-discriminatory conduct, with a special focus on leaders’ responsibility in this area. This topic is further emphasized from a legal perspective in the “Legal Foundations” module.
Equality issues have been and continue to be on the agenda at foundation-wide networking events to raise awareness of this topic among all employees.
A “Diversity” working group is developing additional formats to raise awareness of non-discriminatory conduct.
Numerous individual training opportunities on this topic, as well as requests for specialized training, are accommodated as part of the training planning process. Both the costs are covered and time off is granted.
Work-Life-Balance
Shaping one’s own life in a personalized way by effectively balancing professional, family, and other life-planning interests: to this end, employees are provided with a wide range of tools.
A key foundation is the flexibility to structure one’s own work hours. A service agreement governing work hours establishes a broad framework and allows for flex time without core working hours, enabling individual needs to be effectively reconciled with organizational requirements.
Another key component is the option for remote work, which offers flexibility not only in terms of time but also location. A service agreement has also been established for this purpose.
The option of a sabbatical for permanent employees also creates the freedom to pursue longer-term or more time-intensive personal projects, thereby helping to achieve a healthy work-life balance.
Emergency childcare provided through an educational partner makes it easier for parents to delegate private childcare responsibilities at short notice.
In addition, a generous range of part-time work models is offered as a solid foundation for balancing family and career.