Organisational Culture
As a research institute, the DWI takes on the challenge of surpassing disciplinary limits and tackling new questions relating to substances and materials that combine technology and nature. It is a location in which people with different talents, experiences and skills work together, in order to learn from one another and generate new knowledge and new methods for a better life in our world.
In order to be able to overcome this challenge, experts from different disciplines must work together closely. That is why researchers of biotechnology, chemistry, physics and process technology work together on research projects on a project-by-project basis. The interdisciplinary nature shapes the organizational culture and all dimensions of diversity. Openness, tolerance, respect and equal opportunities are self-evident and essential foundations in this regard.
Ensuring scientific excellence and sustainability of research is part of our organisational culture. Professional and methodical standards, transparency and integrity in leadership and collegial cooperation are characteristic of this. In this way, we act and work in accordance with the Code of Conduct "Guiding Principles of our Actions in the Leibniz Association". These guiding principles are a fundamental building block in the area of Leibniz integrity. They represent a voluntary commitment of the Association and its members. They are supplemented and concretized by further guidelines and standards of the Leibniz Association, which support the development of strategy and the implementation of the guiding principles in DWI's daily work.
Our research for a sustainable future
At DWI, we are advancing the development of sustainable materials and linking them to a comprehensive sustainability strategy for our institute. As a partner of the Aachen Climate City Agreement, we are actively committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2030. Dedicated colleagues from various departments are working on a comprehensive sustainability concept. Our Sustainability Working Group focuses on key areas of action such as energy, mobility, laboratory operations, IT and administration in order to develop and implement targeted measures for greater sustainability.
Appreciative cooperation for scientific excellence
To ensure that people with different talents, experiences and skills can contribute in the best possible way, the DWI actively pursues the topics of equal opportunities, inclusion and the promotion of a welcoming culture for a diverse working environment. The aim is to create an environment and an institute culture in which people feel welcome and self-efficacious - and can thus develop their potential for the development of materials for a better life and scientific excellence.
Measures and work in the "DEI" working group
The aim of the DWI is to design forms of work and organization in such a way that they enable the entire workforce to realize their life plans. Among other things, this includes ensuring that measures to reconcile work and family life are sustainable, regularly evaluated and, if necessary, expanded or improved.
The "Equal Opportunities and Diversity" working group was founded in January 2019 to promote these goals. It supports the Institute's Equal Opportunities Comissioner. The continuous development of the work has brought new priorities, so that the working group has been called "Diversity" since 2024, Equity and Inclusion. The tasks of the working group include being responsive to the needs of the workforce, setting targets and indicators and developing and implementing effective measures (e.g. welcoming culture, buddy system, dealing with discrimination). To this end, it has divided its work into focus groups, which further develop the various topics.
Part of these measures and the family-friendly atmosphere at the institute include individual measures such as flexible working hours, part-time work, temporary exemption from attendance requirements, mobile working, family-friendly meeting times, leave of absence for family-related reasons (such as the need to care for relatives), agreements on parental leave and returning to work, as well as assistance in finding suitable childcare.
The Equal Opportunities Comissioner supports personnel, social and organizational measures with a view to respecting equal opportunities and is the contact person for individual questions for members of the institute. Together with the members of the working group, she is constantly working on anchoring equal opportunities, inclusion and the promotion of a welcoming culture for a diverse working environment in the DWI's institutional culture.
Gender equality concept of the DWI
Part of the work of the Equal Opportunities Comissioner is the implementation of an equal opportunities concept for the DWI in order to ensure equal opportunities for employees and to promote and utilize their various skills and potential. In order to implement equality between women and men and to create and ensure equal opportunities, objectives, strategic guidelines and procedures are specified here together with the Executive Board. Transparency in personnel planning and development creates the conditions for recognizing and countering mechanisms of discrimination and for developing positive measures.
The gender equality concept is binding for all areas of responsibility and decisions of the DWI. In this way, equality can be implemented and sustainably ensured as an overarching and consistent guiding principle and cross-sectional task in the sense of gender mainstreaming.
With an active gender equality policy, the DWI aims to improve the career opportunities of women in science and increase the proportion of women in management positions in particular. To this end, a gender equality concept with flexible target quotas (so-called cascade model) is drawn up on the basis of an analysis of the institute's current employee structure, which is evaluated and updated every four years.
Implementing equal opportunities and ensuring that measures to reconcile work and family life are sustainable, regularly evaluated and, if necessary, expanded or improved is the express task of the institute's management and all employees with management and supervisor functions as well as HR administration. At the same time, it is an integral part of the institute's culture.
The DWI pursues the following goals in the areas of equal opportunities and work-life balance:
- Consideration of family obligations and work-life balance for all employees
- Sustainable increase in the proportion of women as specialists and managers
- Improving access and promotion conditions for women
- Use gender-appropriate language so that women and men feel equally addressed and are perceived as equal; to avoid gender-specific role models and to adequately communicate the principle of equality internally and externally.
The DWI has also been a member of the "Success Factor Family" corporate network since September 2023. This is the central platform for companies in Germany that are interested in or already committed to family-conscious HR policies. It is a joint initiative of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs and the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Diversity at DWI
The DWI has signed the Diversity Charter and is actively committed to diversity in the workplace. The DWI creates a barrier-free and unprejudiced working environment in which all employees can develop to their full potential.
All members of the institute are valued, regardless of gender, age, disability, nationality, origin, sexual orientation and identity, religion or ideology.
The DWI has set itself the following overarching goals to further develop diversity:
Realizing equal opportunities - The DWI realizes equal opportunities in all areas by shaping the structural framework conditions in such a way that all employees have the same opportunities for access and success, regardless of their individual starting situation.
Promoting talent - The DWI promotes the potential and talent of all institute members, thereby contributing to the implementation of equal opportunities and the excellence of the institute.
Protection against discrimination - The DWI does not tolerate discrimination in any form and ensures compliance with the General Equal Treatment Act. It promotes an institute culture in which respect and appreciation are of great importance.