Structural inequities persist in the university context. The underrepresentation of diverse individuals in teaching, research and administration is problematic. For the SUB, it is clear that the University of Bern must act more comprehensively and decisively and take concrete measures in the area of equality and equal opportunities.
In April 2022, the SUB student council adopted a new position paper on equality and equal opportunities.
As an educational institution, the University of Bern is embedded in society and consequently cannot be viewed in isolation from societal power structures. In general, it should be noted that equality at the University of Bern is defined and promoted in many areas only in relation to women and men (University of Bern, n.d.). However, equality is far from being achieved when white, heterosexual cis women from families with an academic background are represented in higher academic levels and university leadership positions. It is also about equal and equitable opportunities for participation for, and representation of, trans and non-binary people, people in immigrant/refugee contexts, people from families without academic backgrounds, people with scarce financial resources, people with few social networks, and people with a physical disability or mental illness. The struggle for equality and equal opportunities must be intersectional!
The SUB defines Age, Gender and Gender Identity, Nationality and Migration/Fugitive Context, Physical Disability, Mental Illness, Racialization, Religious Belief and Worldview, Sexual and Romantic Orientation, Social Context, Language, and Compatibility as categories of analysis. These are not to be understood as exhaustive.
The study program at the University of Bern is oriented towards a linear educational path. Many people, especially refugees but also lateral entrants, have an educational path that is not straightforward and linked to complex life realities.
For student parents, the SUB has organized the networking meeting SUB-KiStE.
The University of Bern is organized in a binary manner. For example, students must assign themselves to the gender «woman» or «man» when enrolling. The existence of people outside the binary gender spectrum is thus negated at the University of Bern. In March 2022, bärner studizytig wrote an article titled «Binary Realities and Queer Toilets» describing how the University of Bern deals with nonbinarity.
The SUB supports and / or initiates the following projects on this topic:
Persons with foreign citizenship or persons in a migration/refugee context face particular obstacles (e.g. linguistic, cultural and bureaucratic) in university access, during studies, in research and in everyday university life.
The SUB supports and / or initiates the following projects on this topic:
Physical disabilities significantly impact the everyday university life of affected people. The University of Bern should be inclusive. All (future) students of the University of Bern must be able to navigate the physical premises and the digital infrastructure without barriers.
The SUB supports myAbility, a career program for students and recent graduates with disabilities or chronic illnesses.
For more information on studying at university despite an impairment, visit swissuniability.ch.
The SUB demands from the University of Bern to sensitize its members to mental impairment. In addition, a framework must be created for affected people to be able to shape their everyday university life and adapt it to their needs. Do you have a concern? Contact us: You can also contact the counseling center of the Bernese universities.
The University of Bern is entangled in ongoing colonial-racist structures. The SUB demands that the University of Bern adopt a decolonial and anti-racist stance at all levels and act accordingly.
The SUB is part of the City of Bern's week of action against racism.
Contact point Antirassism
The University of Bern now has a contact point for racism in the Equal Opportunities Department. Those affected can report a racist incident in person and arrange a consultation or do so anonymously using an online reporting form.
The University of Bern is influenced by the Christian-religious context of the Canton of Bern. This is reflected, for example, in the prevailing Christian religious holidays. Other religious convictions and world views are insufficiently taken into account in the organization and the applicable structures at the University of Bern.
The Room of Silence is a multi-religious and worldview pluralistic space at the Unitobler, which is intended to facilitate the compatibility of studies and faith or worldview.
Heterosexuality should not be regarded as a prerequisite or "normality" in the university context. The SUB demands that the University of Bern recognizes the diversity of sexual and romantic orientations in teaching, research and administration.
The SUB supports and / or initiates the following projects on this topic:
University structures must be actively and sustainably changed so that all people, regardless of their social context, have equal opportunities in access to higher education as well as in the design of their studies.
The SUB supports and / or initiates the following projects on this topic:
The SUB demands from the University of Bern a critical examination of their use of language and the application of a consistently gender-appropriate, diversity-sensitive and non-discriminatory language. Furthermore, it advocates for the promotion of accessible communication at the University of Bern.
Click here for the info page and the guidelines for gender-equitable language at the University of Bern (document available in German and French)
For more equality and equal opportunities, the complex realities of students' lives must be adequately taken into account. Compatibility includes, on the one hand, the compatibility of studies and wage employment, and, on the other hand, with volunteer commitments, for example in student councils, associations or university commissions.
The SUB supports and / or initiates the following projects on this topic:
The University of Bern has a responsibility, both within the institution and in society as a whole, to produce and communicate knowledge in a critical and non-discriminatory manner.
The goal of an equal opportunity, non-discriminatory University of Bern emerges through fundamental structural changes and targeted initiatives. Nonetheless, it is of central importance that the needs of affected people are taken into account.
For the SUB it is clear that the University of Bern must act more comprehensively and decisively and take concrete measures in the area of equality and equal opportunities.
