What is the Diversity Audit?
The audit supports universities in developing and implementing a university-specific diversity strategy. The audit combines elements of organizational development with collegial advice and external support. Moderated reflections and discussions with all participants and potential stakeholder groups (university management, students, employees) accompany and promote the process within the university.
The procedure does not serve to evaluate performance or compare performance between universities, but is a confidential development tool that is based on the individual objectives of the respective university and certifies that the procedure has been completed correctly. The aim of the audit procedure is to provide the university with the best possible support and advice in achieving its goals and the associated development process.
The overarching objective is to promote a DEIB-sensitive university culture, to professionally shape diversity in universities and thus help universities to fulfil their democratic mission in order to promote long-term structural change, organizational development and participation. Over 70 universities have already been certified.
Why a diversity audit?
DEIB is a social necessity and should be firmly anchored as a central cross-cutting issue at universities. The aim is to strengthen the social responsibility and role model function of universities and to support them in the long term in promoting an open, critically reflective and DEIB-conscious university culture.
In the face of increasing anti-democratic attitudes, growing social inequalities and global crises, resilient, reflective institutions that are willing to learn and take responsibility are needed more than ever. Universities play a central role in this as pioneers and shapers of an open and just society. The promotion of DEIB is therefore a social necessity and should be firmly anchored as a cross-cutting issue at universities. The aim is to strengthen the social responsibility and role model function of universities and to support them in the long term in promoting an open, critically reflective and DEIB-conscious university culture.
The Diversity Audit aims to create new ways and starting points to effectively support universities in these complex tasks.
How did the auditing process go (2018 to 2020)?
The auditing process took place over a period of two years and consisted of
- the internal auditing process and
- the diversity forum.
The internal auditing process
The internal auditing process served to develop and implement a university-specific diversity strategy in five internal university workshops as part of the steering committee, which were moderated and accompanied by an external, independent and professionally qualified auditor. The auditor for the University of Siegen was Dr.' Daniela De Ridder. At the beginning and at the end of the internal auditing process, the University of Siegen prepared a self-report. The first self-report documented the university's initial situation, in particular with regard to the composition of the student body and the existing target group-specific and diversity-oriented offers, and formulated measurable and verifiable development goals that were to be achieved during the auditing process. The second self-report reflected on the auditing process and assessed the extent to which the self-imposed quality objectives had been achieved.
The Diversity Forum
Parallel to the internal auditing process, a collegial exchange took place in the Diversity Forum with the universities that underwent the audit at the same time. In addition to the University of Siegen, these included the Universities of Bonn and Vechta as well as HAW Hamburg, Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. In addition to experts from universities and academia, speakers from companies and local authorities were also invited to the forum. The discussion results and impulses from the forum were in turn fed back into the internal auditing process.
The certificate
At the end of the two-year auditing process, the Stifterverband awarded the "Shaping Diversity" certificate, which is valid for three years, at a ceremony in Berlin in February 2020.
Re-audit 2024
The Shaping Diversity re-audit serves to review, consolidate and further develop the diversity strategy developed in the initial audit. It aims to support audited universities in consistently pursuing their specific diversity goals and encourage them to include all member groups of the university in the diversity strategy.
As part of the re-audit, a self-report had to be prepared, reflecting on what had been achieved since the first audit.