Main Content

Gender diversity

Welcome!

We have compiled information on this page on the topic of gender diversity at the university. In addition to advice on how to proceed with a change of personal status and/or first name, you will also find tips on how to address TIN (Trans, Inter, Nonbinary) people in writing and orally, locations of gender-neutral restrooms, and much more. This page undergoes continuous updates and additions – if you have any suggestions for changes or if you have questions, feel free to contact usplease contact us!

  • TIN* and the university

    The 2018 brochure of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft trans*emanzipatorische Hochschulpolitik (Working Group on Trans*emancipatory Higher Education Policy) offers “Information on Knowledgeable Interaction with Inter* and Trans* Students for Decision-Makers at Universities.”

    Brochure Inter* and Trans* at the University (in German).

    The Federal Conference of Gender Equality Officers at Universities (“BuKoF”) has published comprehensive “Recommendations for Action on Gender Diversity at Universities.”

    Recommendations for Action on Gender Diversity at Universities: First Steps (May 2020). First steps (May 2020) (in German).

    Recommendations for Action on Gender Diversity at Universities (Implementation, January 2022) (in German.)

    Glossary and explanations of terms

    Here you will find both a brief glossary from the Office for Anti-discrimination and Diversity on gender diversity and a more detailed glossary from the Federal Conference of Gender equality Officers at Universities (“BuKoF”). Both explain terms around gender (diversity) and sexual orientation. Hier fehlen die Links noch, oder?

  • Changing your first name and/or listed sex

    Does your first name not (yet) match your official documents?

    We would like you to be addressed correctly at Philipps-Universität Marburg and are currently working on procedures that will make a first name change and an alignment of your listed sex as low a threshold as possible and implementable without having to change your official documents. This process is far from being finished, and on this page you will find information on the current implementation status as well as the options currently available.

    Changing your first name as a student

    Trans*, inter* and nonbinary persons can have their first name changed in their record at the Student Office at Philipps-Universität Marburg even without a court-executed change of personal information. Documents, etc., that are administered via the Student Administration will then be changed accordingly. There are currently 3 options available for your listed sex/gender (diverse, female, male).

    To do this, a student must submit a dgti* Supplemental ID Card. Link to the dgti* Supplemental ID Card

    The dgti* Supplemental ID card can also be used for enrollment.

    Enrolling or changing your first name will generally also be possible in a private room. For organizational reasons, however, the Student Office asks that you make an appointment in advance in this case.

    A separate procedure is required to change your e-mail address at the University Computer Center (HRZ), for which various options are available. The Computer Center FAQs give an overview here.

    Any change to certificates or diplomas is currently possible only after a court executed name change has been completed.

    Changing your first name as an employee

    There is currently no regulated procedure for employees to change their first name and/or listed sex/gender if an official change of civil status has not yet taken place. However, it is possible at the HR department to arrange for a “nickname” to be stored in SAP for internal communication that is not the official first name. The Gender Equality Office will be happy to help you in your individual case.

    Identity management

    Help us adapt identity management to the users:

    It is of great concern to us that the members and staff of Philipps-Universität Marburg be addressed with their correct names. Adapting IT to those who use it is one of the bigger hurdles we face in this regard. Since various identity management systems are in use at the university, errors can still occasionally crop up in technical interfaces, despite great care. If you experience such an error, e.g. you are addressed with your deadname in an automatically generated letter, please report this to us so that we can correct the source of the error as quickly as possible. By doing so, you will be helping us on our way to a visibly gender-diverse university!

  • Gender-neutral restrooms and locker rooms

    “Why have separate restrooms?” This is occasionally encountered when it comes to gender-neutral or all-gender restrooms.

    What may at first sound trifling is not! For people who (seemingly) cannot be assigned a certain gender based on stereotypical, visual characteristics, the use of public restrooms can be accompanied by great insecurity and the risk of assault, e.g., being thrown out, stared at or forcibly outed. For some TIN individuals, using a public restroom has been so fraught with barriers in the past that they avoid using public restrooms completely in their daily lives, which can have health impacts.

    But all-gender restrooms are not beneficial only for TIN individuals: the existence of gender-neutral restrooms can also prevent long lines at larger events.

    There are currently a number of gender-neutral restrooms at Philipps-Universität Marburg, and that number will be expanding gradually. As a rule, smaller restroom facilities with individual stalls will be used for this purpose. This will increase the total number of toilets available to men and women, but there will still be a large number of gender separated toilets. Legal information on this can be found in the appendix to the Workplace Ordinance under No. 4.

    Locations

    We regularly update the list of locations to date of all-gender restrooms in buildings at Philipps-Universität Marburg.

    Link to list of all-gender restrooms

    Toilet conversion – what to consider
    If you would like to convert a restroom or locker room in your building or department into an all-gender restroom or locker room, please contact the Office for Anti-discrimination and Diversity or the Gender Equality Office. Pictograms that include the “functional designation” or simple labels such as “All-Gender Restroom" are recommended.

  • Contact and advising centers

    Advising centers – internal

    Office for Anti-discrimination and Diversity

    Gender Equality Office

    Autonomous InterTrans* Unit

    Advising centers – external

    DGTI Hessen - Marburg – Giessen

    Kompetenzzentrum Trans*und Diversität (Trans* and Diversity Expertise Center) (continuing education, counseling)

    LSBT*IQ-Netzwerk Mittelhessen (Central Hesse LGBT*IQ Network)

    Bündnis Akzeptanz und Vielfalt Frankfurt (Frankfurt Federation for Acceptance and Diversity)

    Queer contact points in Hesse...

    DGTI – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Transidentität und Intersexualität e.V. (German Society for Transidentity and Intersexuality)

    Kompetenzzentrum Trans* und Diversität (KTD) (Trans* and Diversity Expertise Center)

    ...and nationally

    Bundesverband Trans* (National Trans* Association)

    Federal Conference of Gender Equality Officers at Universities (BuKoF)

    Regenbogenportal des BMFSFJ (Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth Rainbow Portal)