Equal opportunities at the BfS

• Gender equality
• People with disabilities
• Cultural Diversity

Gender equality

The equality of women and men is enshrined in the Basic Law, in the Federal Act on Gender Equality but also in the BfS Guiding Principle. The BfS Equal Opportunities Officer promotes and monitors the implementation of the Federal Act on Gender Equality in the framework of personnel management. She is not bound by instructions and reports directly to the BfS President.

She is involved in all staffing, organisational and social measures of the Federal Office that pertain to

• Equality between women and men,
• Reconciliation of family, care and employment, and
• Protection against sexual harassment in the workplace.

This includes in particular:

• Personnel matters such as recruitment, further education, secondment, transfer, reassignment, promotion, upgrading and appointment as civil servant
• Organisational and social matters
• Drafting of guidelines and service agreements

An important goal here is to increase the proportion of women in areas where women are under-represented. This applies in particular to the group of civil servants and to leadership positions.

The tasks of the Equal Opportunities Officer also include personal counselling and support for women and men with respect to career advancement, elimination of disadvantages and issues pertaining to the reconciliation of work, care and family life.

People with disabilities

The integration of people with disabilities into work and vocational training is an essential manifestation of and, at the same time, a prerequisite for equal participation in social life. We fulfil special obligations to support people with disabilities by continuously working to compensate for disadvantages of their disability, to improve the specific working conditions and to ensure equal opportunities.

In order to ensure that the interests of people with disabilities are respected, a Representative for Disabled Employees was elected at each of the larger BfS sites in Salzgitter, Berlin and Neuherberg. Local interests are brought together in the Overall Representation for Disabled Employees. The Representatives ensure, for example, that people with disabilities are given preferential consideration in the case of equal qualification and personal aptitude.

Cultural Diversity

The BfS has employees from a wide variety of backgrounds, which is a great enrichment for the Federal Office. Equal treatment of different cultures is a matter of course for us.