By Tina Strandvig, HR Department. Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication. Illustration, AAU and Colourbox.

In the autumn of 2022, a questionnaire was sent out to all permanent staff members with the headline 'How do you experience inclusion at AAU'? The questionnaire is part of the AAU inclusion survey that aims to provide knowledge about how the university can become a more diverse and inclusive workplace. 

- The description of AAU as a workplace is generally positive, but unfortunately not everyone feels included. We have to do something about this. Because no matter who you are and where you come from, you should feel included at AAU, says Rector Per Michael Johansen.

Challenges among international, female and younger staff 

It is especially the international, female and younger staff members who experience challenges with inclusion, such as gaining access to informal networks, participating in decision-making processes or building a relationship with the manager. Among international staff, the language barrier is a particular challenge for inclusion.

- It is worrying to read that 1 in 5 international staff members do not want to stay at AAU. We can and must do better, and we have already started, the rector says, referring to the management's announcement that in the academic environments communication will primarily take place in English and then Danish, and work is generally being done to increase the retention of international staff.

The challenges of inclusion for female staff include experiencing having to work harder to be seen as equal compared to male colleagues.

- At AAU, we employ some of the world's best educated women, and yet we attach greater importance to words if they come from men. We cannot be known for this, and we must therefore intensify our efforts to stamp out unconscious bias. We have already initiated a number of measures to reduce unconscious bias in decision-making processes for example, but we can do much more, he says.  

The results call for inclusive management and action

The results also show a lack of personal identification with the upper and strategic management, which is described as opaque and closed, especially by those who work in Copenhagen and Esbjerg.

- As management, we must have the courage to look inward when we receive such feedback. Therefore, I have invited the Executive Management to a workshop where we can go in depth with how the management can be more inclusive and what the inclusion survey calls for in terms of structural measures, says the rector.

Prompted by AAU's diversity and inclusion work

The AAU Committee for Equality and Diversity took the initiative to do the inclusion survey. Dean Lars Hvilsted Rasmussen, Chair of the Committee for Equality and Diversity, says:

- Where diversity is about ensuring a broad representation, inclusion is about creating an equal environment. By working on both areas, we can attract talented people and retain the talented staff already in the organisation, says Lars Hvilsted Rasmussen.

- I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to the questionnaire and participated in focus group interviews. This resulted in important information so that we can now be even better at devising and targeting initiatives for the staff groups most challenged when it comes to inclusion, he says and adds

- We are now going back into the engine room and scrutinising the results. For example, are there initiatives that need to be turbo-charged, initiatives that need to be shelved, or new ones that need to be put in the pipeline, he says, referring to the AAU Strategic Action Plan for Equality and Diversity and the Executive Management's upcoming workshop. In addition, it is important that all AAU faculties and units use the results for preventive and developmental inclusion work at all levels of the organisation, he says.