“The ETH community must become more female.”
To mark International Women’s Day 2021, Julia Dannath-Schuh, Vice President of Personnel Development and Leadership, reflects on equal opportunities and the advancement of women at ETH. Her conclusion: The ETH community must become more female – at every level.
Year after year, International Women’s Day is the perfect occasion for critical self-reflection. Where does ETH stand in terms of equal opportunities for women? Where is there room for improvement and what are the greatest challenges? These are just some of the questions that Julia Dannath-Schuh discusses in a video interview to mark International Women’s Day 2021.
Promoting women 365 days a year
For the new Vice President of Personnel Development and Leadership, gender equality and the advancement of women should be priorities, not just on International Women’s Day, but 365 days a year. “It’s crucial that we work every day to ensure that all genders have the same opportunities in our society.” Although numerous excellent initiatives and measures are already in place at ETH, the university is still far from achieving the equality it aspires to, according to Dannath-Schuh.
“We need to do a better job of making our ETH community more female. And I mean in all areas, not just at professorship level, where we’re already successful: 40 percent of the professors newly appointed last year were women. We must – and indeed want to – attract more women at every level of academic staff, as well as in our administration and among students,” the new Vice President concludes after just over 100 days in office. Above all, to mark this special day, she advises the over 12,000 women at ETH to believe in themselves, to have the courage of their convictions and to define their own boundaries, as boundaries often exist only in the minds of others.
ETH homepage with a spotlight on women
ETH would not be the powerful, thriving university it is today without women’s multifaceted commitment. From research to teaching, administration and the technical domain, women offer a fresh perspective and different ways of looking at things, thereby making us all, women and men alike, more innovative and more successful. Today, to emphasise this commitment, women take centre stage on the ETH homepage, which features stories, portraits and information by and about women at ETH.
Further information
Events to mark International Women’s Day
- ETH Global Lecture on equal opportunities with Iris Bohnet and Sarah Springman, 8 March 2021, 2.00 p.m.– 3.00 p.m.
- Q&A online session on women's suffrage by ETH-Equal with Dr Isabel Rohner, 16 March 2021, 6.15 p.m.– 7.15 p.m.
- A series of lectures on Women & Science and Space with Sarah M. Springman: Lecture by Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell on the topic of “The curious case of the pulsating star”, 17 March 2021, 4.00 p.m.– 5.30 p.m.
- Virtual tour «Women at ETH» (in German) with Rektorin Sarah Springmann, Simone Schürle und Katharina von Salis, 23 March 2021, 6.15 p.m.– 7.15 p.m.