Equal Opportunity

UWA upholds equal opportunity as an ethical imperative and as an asset. We aim to be aware of and dismantle structural obstacles to participation in research that individuals face due to their gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic or religious affiliation, nationality, age, ability, socio-economic status, and due to racist bias. We consider this effort key to achieving scholarly excellence and personal and social wellbeing and resilience within and beyond academia.

Our equal opportunity work builds on the DFG Research-Oriented Equity and Diversity Standards and Universität Hamburg’s commitment to equity, diversity, and sustainable development. It counters exclusionary norms in scholarship and broadens research communities. For us, inclusion is about ensuring that all feel respected and valued and are supported to thrive within our scholarly communities. It is also about opening up scholarship to a multiplicity of voices, perspectives, ways of knowing, and social and cultural projects and stakes.

Our researchers collaborate across disciplines and across academic and non-academic communities in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central and South America. Many of us have long-term connections in communities whose interests and epistemologies have been under severe pressure for the past several centuries, and we all work on precisely the kinds of artefacts that were often translocated during colonial encounters. We are thus in a unique position to push for changes in global research practices and we have a responsibility to lead in this field.

Accordingly, we strive to put equal opportunity at the core of all our activities, from recruitment and student support, to research design, data handling, publishing, software development, and community outreach.