Diversity, Equality and Inclusion: Strategy 2025–2028
The ETH Domain is committed to ensuring equal opportunities and creating a culture of inclusion and belonging for all its members.
While gender equality remains a key priority, the ETH Board has decided to expand its Gender Strategy for the ETH Domain (2021-2024) into a more comprehensive Strategy for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) for the period 2025-2028. This broadened scope better reflects the diverse characteristics, perspectives, life designs and experiences of all ETH Domain‘s members.
The DEI Strategy defines overarching goals and principles for the entire ETH Domain. It provides a common framework for the six institutions of the ETH Domain, namely ETH Zurich, EPFL, PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag. In accordance with their autonomy, the ETH Domain’s institutions are responsible for implementing the DEI Strategy in a way that matches their respective situation. To this end, they elaborate their own DEI strategies or action plans, which contain the specific goals and measures for each institution.
The DEI Strategy is divided into five focus areas, which approach the goal of fostering diversity, equality and inclusion from different perspectives:
Firm embedding in the institutions plus commitment on the part of the top management are central to the implementation and effectiveness of DEI policies. The responsibility for implementing and communicating such policies lies with the Presidents or Directors and the executive boards or boards of directors of the respective institutions and with the heads of their subentities (e.g. schools, departments, administration), depending on the institutions’ individual structure. The development and implementation of DEI policies in the ETH Domain institutions are supported by appropriate professional structures, as well as by staff with adequate resources who are associated with a member of the executive boards or boards of directors.
The ETH Domain institutions strive to create and maintain an inclusive institutional culture on all levels. This involves fostering an environment where individuals feel respected and valued and where they are empowered to fully participate and contribute. It also means actively removing barriers, countering biases, and preventing discrimination to ensure that all members have access to opportunities and resources.
All ETH Domain institutions recognise the importance of career development to foster an inclusive and equitable environment and to promote equal opportunities for all employees. Based on monitoring and the consideration of good practices, and in accordance with the legal framework , each institution defines specific measures and tailored support for women and other groups under-represented in the ETH Domain, and especially in STEM subjects, for both academic and non-academic career paths.
The institutions of the ETH Domain and the ETH Board ensure that working and studying conditions are conducive to a good “life domain” balance that preserves their members’ health and psychological well-being and allows them to fulfil their social and care responsibilities.
The ETH Domain institutions implement specific measures in all the areas where it is appropriate to foster the integration of aspects related to diversity, in particular gender, in research projects and programmes. They provide training opportunities for students and researchers that allow them to acquire the relevant skills to devel-op research designs and innovations in the interests of an inclusive society and based on principles of equality and diversity. The institutions of the ETH Domain support critical debate, exchange of experience and translational research when developing such research designs and innovations.
