17 Jun 2024
In the interview reproduced below, Professor Markus Gloe and Ahmmad Haase of the Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science talk about their work on the Erasmus+ project PRO-Gendering, which promotes gender diversity in higher education.
Male, female, queer: Modern society is diverse, but discrimination is still commonplace. The pan-European Erasmus+ project PRO-Gendering seeks to raise awareness of gender diversity across higher education institutions. Professor Markus Gloe and Ahmmad Haase of the Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science are showcasing the project as part of the diversity campaign Belonging@LMU. Their contribution? At workshops and in seminars, they encourage students to be sensitive in their approach to gender diversity.
are working together with five other European universities on the ProGendering project.
In recent years, universities have done a lot for gender equality. Where do problems still exist?
Markus Gloe: While we are indeed making good progress, we still face a number of structural, cultural and individual challenges. The most visible form of inequality is still the lack of women in higher academic positions and management roles. In addition, gender-specific barriers and forms of discrimination persist. Women often encounter stereotypical expectations with regard to their academic interests and abilities. And LSBT*I*Q+ individuals still lack visibility. Much has been done to provide offers of support – in the form of mentoring programs and networks, for example – but there is certainly still room to do better.
Ahmmad Haase: There is parity among postdoctoral researchers, but the picture looks completely different at the next level up. There are so many highly qualified women who have reached the professorial level but who sadly never make the leap into a professorship.
We want to prepare the students so that they know how to tackle the issues of gender diversity, equality and queerness from as early as elementary school.Markus Gloe
And that despite the fact that gender studies have already been underway for decades in some cases?
Markus Gloe: Gender studies and queer studies provide methodological enrichment, question traditional assumptions, propose new approaches to analyzing power structures, raise awareness and seek to deliver fresh stimulus. But it would be wrong to believe that this changes the structures in place at universities. Moreover, gender and queer studies are often met with skepticism. Some countries are even trying to deconstruct what has developed so far.
Ahmmad Haase: Recent studies show that women and queer people still often have a hard time at university, and that they are confronted by structural disadvantages and discrimination.
Where does LMU stand compared to other European universities?
Ahmmad Haase: In the shape of the Queer Department, which was created by the students themselves, LMU has fairly good structures in place. Equality officers and women’s officers are also deployed here on various levels. Equality plans are regularly updated. A similar picture emerges in Italy and Greece. Things look different in Poland, for example, where LSBT*I*Q+-free zones have been proclaimed at times. In that country, researchers in this field are exposed to very considerable challenges.
Gendering is a very controversial subject in society. What do you say to critics?
Markus Gloe: I would say: Language is a living system that is constantly evolving, adapting to social and cultural changes and also influencing how we perceive the world. At the same time, it serves to give all genders visibility in the context of communication, to recognize their presence and importance, to break down stereotypical conceptions and, in this way, to contribute to furthering equality. It follows that language should reflect the realities of a diversified society.
The official PRO-Gendering project description says nothing about reflections on gender-inclusive language. Why?
Ahmmad Haase: The project sees gender-inclusive language as a precondition, not a goal. Everyone involved in it is already aware of the issues. For linguistic reasons, however, the problem is more prevalent in German. At the EU level, we communicate mostly in English, which is a fairly gender-neutral language. That said, the project does seek to reinforce and give greater visibility to gender-inclusive language.
What exactly does the project work involve?
Ahmmad Haase: The project began by conducting surveys, producing national reports and analyzing gender equality plans. Gender equality does not apply only to lecturers: It concerns everyone who does anything at the university, including administrative functions and the body of students. In teacher training courses, we raise students’ awareness of the need to deal sensitively with gender inclusivity. In this way, we train multipliers and strengthen future teachers, who will in turn be able to promote gender inclusivity in schools.
Markus Gloe: That is our focus within the project network: We want to prepare the students so that they know how to tackle the issues of gender diversity, equality and queerness from as early as elementary school.
Ahmmad Haase: Another important aspect of our project is how parents who are studying – and not only trainee teachers – can strike a healthy balance between raising children and pursuing their studies. Regrettably, the drop-out rate is high for mothers who start to study and then realize that they can’t cope with both child rearing and their studies. Above all, we adopt an intersectional approach and seek to draw attention to multiple discrimination. That means highlighting the situation of women with physical disabilities and pointing out possible barriers, for example. LMU has service units such as “Studying with a child”, as well as women’s and equality officers at the various departments. In many cases, however, too few people currently know what they have to offer, so we want to improve their visibility.
What are you personally most looking forward to in the project work?
Ahmmad Haase: I’m looking forward to how students respond to and apply what they learn in queer education and gender issues. Why? Because these perspectives are urgently needed in everyday school practice.
Markus Gloe: The most exciting challenge for me is the question of whether we can move the topic of gendering on from man-woman binaries to a diversity of genders. And whether we can also succeed in doing so in a European consortium.
If you could dream your way into the future, what would you like to have achieved ten years from now?
Markus Gloe: Our dream would be to have no further need for projects such as PRO-Gendering because awareness and equality have been achieved both at universities and in the world of work, and because our language too communicates the fact that we live in a diverse world.
What can we at the university do today to make that happen?
Markus Gloe: It begins with small steps – such as circulating a list at the start of a seminar and asking the participants to enter their pronouns.
More information about the project is available at the ProGendering website.
Professor Markus Gloe is Director of the Geschwister Scholl Institute. His responsibilities include political education and didactics in social studies/politics and society.
Ahmmad Haase is currently sitting his first state examination to become a secondary school teacher. He also works at the teaching unit for political education and didactics in social studies/politics and society.