Award for Family friendly TU Graz

To start a family and to look after it is a massive challenge for men and women – and to reconcile these extensive tasks with a demanding job or study programme is often difficult. Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) gives what assistance it can to its employees by way of a number of measures and projects. The Dual Career Service for duel-career couples, the wide-ranging university childcare facilities, support for paternal leave and support in caring for relatives are just some of the many things which TU Graz has initiated in the last few years. Men and women likewise benefit from better compatibility between family and job, explains Barbara Herz, head of the Gender Equality and Affirmative Action Office: “The aim is to facilitate women and men to balance their family life with their job or studies.”

Attractive employer

That TU Graz is well on the way to fulfilling its aims in this area became clear at the end of January. It was awarded second place in the “Most family-friendly enterprises in Styria” competition in the category “Enterprises/ institutions under public law” – only KAGes (Steiermärkische Krankenanstaltengesellschaft) was able to take first place away from the University. “As an attractive employer, it is a major concern of Graz University of Technology to support employees and students who have childcare responsibilities by means of a concrete range of childcare and advice and to take pressure off them. For this reason I’m particularly pleased that we were able to achieve second place in only our first participation in the competition,” said Vice Rector Andrea Hoffmann. She accepted the prize along with Barbara Herz, head of the Gender Equality and Affirmative Action Office at a ceremony in the Hall of the FH Campus 02.

Compatibility as advantage

Provincial councillors Christian Bachmann and Christopher Drexler stressed the importance of compatibility in the course of the festive handover. “Compatibility of job and family gives a clear competitive advantage to organisations.” The “Most family-friendly enterprises in Styria” competition was held this year for the 20th time by the “Deeds instead of Words” initiative for equality of women and men in the world of work. TU Graz took part in it for the first time.

The competition

An independent jury assessed the measures of the individual enterprises in a total of five categories:

• small business,
• medium-sized business,
• large company,
• enterprise/ institution under public law and
• non-profit enterprise/institution.

What were assessed were working-hour models, flexibility, share of women in management positions, parental leave and re-entry, childcare, family-friendly measures, position of women and family in the corporate philosophy, continuing education opportunities, services for families, information policy and corporate culture. Organiser Ridi Steibl is extremely happy about the annually growing submissions. “This is a clear signal that family friendliness is valued highly in business.”