The MHH Equal Opportunities Office's Anti-Discrimination Unit is the first point of contact for anyone affected.
Contact persons for discrimination issues: Susanne Klyk and Anjana Pengel. Copyright: Karin Kaiser/MHH
Suggestive comments about your appearance? Stupid jokes about your sexual orientation? Racist insults? Employees and students at MHH do not have to put up with this. They can contact the anti-discrimination office of the Equal Opportunities Office. There, Equal Opportunities Officer Susanne Klyk and her colleague Anjana Pengel offer personal advice.
Absolutely confidential
The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) aims to prevent discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability or chronic illness. The Anti-Discrimination Office is committed to this law. ‘If, for example, someone feels discriminated against in contact with patients, among colleagues or by superiors, we offer an initial consultation,’ says Susanne Klyk. An appointment can be made within 24 hours, the conversation is treated with absolute confidentiality and those seeking help do not have to fear any disadvantages. ‘We do not take any action without the consent of the person concerned,’ assures Anjana Pengel.
The initial consultation first determines whether the individual case constitutes discrimination within the meaning of the AGG. Then the next steps are planned together. If the matter is to be dealt with under labour law – and possibly with the appropriate sanctions – the Equal Opportunities Office involves Human Resources and, if necessary, the Legal Department. Sometimes, however, the discrimination experienced does not fall under the AGG – but is nevertheless stressful for the person who feels discriminated against. ‘We can also help in these cases. We have had very good experiences with discussions involving all parties and can usually resolve the problem to everyone's satisfaction,’ emphasises Susanne Klyk.
The Anti-Discrimination Office was formerly known as the AGG Complaints Office. It was established in 2018 and initially belonged to the Human Resources/Organisation division. Since April 2024, it has been part of the Equal Opportunities Office. ‘Since then, we have held almost 50 counselling sessions, spread across all professional groups and hierarchical levels,’ says Susanne Klyk. Most of them dealt with sexual harassment.
Holistic task
Susanne Klyk and her team see their commitment to a discrimination-free MHH as a holistic task. That is why they not only offer counselling sessions, but also implement several measures. Anjana Pengel, for example, conducts anti-discrimination training for trainees at the nursing school. In addition, anti-discrimination is also addressed in further training courses for managers, in the training of practical instructors in nursing and in the appointment committee. ‘In the long term, we want to reach all employees and students,’ says Susanne Klyk. The Equal Opportunities Office is also working on developing a diversity strategy for MHH and obtaining the ‘Shaping Diversity’ audit from the Stifterverband. ‘Diversity without discrimination creates a good social climate. All members of the university share responsibility for this,’ explains the Equal Opportunities Officer. She knows that the MHH Presidium and all other managers are on her side. ‘Everyone considers the issue of anti-discrimination to be important.’
Text: Tina Götting