Committee gets broader focus, new name, and adds new faces

What is this committee?

Name: Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Purpose (brief): The committee promotes initiatives across the faculty and ensures a sustained focus on diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities across students, academic staff (VIP), technical/administrative staff (TAP) and managers—based on Health’s code and AU’s 2030 action plan.

Composition: The committee may have up to 13 members: the Dean (chair), five department representatives for academic staff (VIP), one representative for technical/administrative staff (TAP), one to two student representatives, two appointed members, and one to two of Health’s representatives on AU’s Diversity and Gender Equality Committee.

Meetings: At least four ordinary meetings annually (typically two in the spring and two in the autumn) plus one annual meeting with the Health Advisory Board for Gender Equality, and extraordinary meetings and/or written procedures as needed.

Who sits on the committee?

Chair
Anne-Mette Hvas

Members
Ask Vest Christiansen
Annette De Thurah
Marta Diaz del Castillo
Simon Dinitzen
Julie Glavind
Peter Lindberg Nejsum
Ruben Pauwels
Jeppe Prætorius
Dorte Rytter
Lotte Eriksen — student representative
Elizabeth Schirrmann Nygaard - student representative

Observer
Simon Byrial Fischel

Since 2022, the faculty’s Gender Equality Committee has worked to promote equal opportunities and better gender balance at Health. With the new name - Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - comes a broader focus and a mandate that covers the full field.

The work is based on Health’s Code of Conduct for Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and the broader approach aligns with AU’s draft action plan for diversity, gender equality and inclusion for 2026–2030, which is currently out for consultation at the faculties.

In AU’s action plan, the focus remains on four areas: recruitment, career development, leadership and workplace culture. Health’s updated terms of reference in this area build directly on this, so the faculty’s local initiatives and AU’s cross-cutting efforts pull in the same direction.

Health must be a family-friendly workplace

“I’m genuinely pleased about the new initiatives in this area. This isn’t just a name change. We’re widening the scope of the committee’s work because everyday life at the faculty requires solutions that work for more people – across disciplines, job categories and backgrounds,” says Dean Anne-Mette Hvas, who chairs the committee.

In practice, the changes mean that the Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion can work more purposefully, long-term and strategically with culture and organisational development, including clear local initiatives and systematic follow-up. This includes ensuring that the faculty is a family-friendly workplace and that we establish even clearer frameworks for language and intercultural communication.

“Health’s principles for gender-neutral language are an important step in the right direction, but they can’t stand alone, and we need to roll them out even more widely than we have managed so far,” says Anne-Mette Hvas.

The dean appoints two additional members

In addition to a new name and updated terms of reference, Health’s Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has two new members appointed by Dean Anne-Mette Hvas: Associate Professor Dorte Rytter from the Department of Public Health and Clinical Associate Professor Julie Glavind from the Department of Clinical Medicine.

“I’m very happy that Dorte and Julie have agreed to join the committee. Both are highly engaged in this area within their respective fields, and I’m sure they will be a great asset to the committee,” says Anne-Mette Hvas.

At the same time, the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health (Associate Professor Ruben Pauwels) and the Department of Forensic Medicine (Assistant Professor Marta Diaz del Castillo) have changed their representatives on the committee, and the Vice-Head of Department for Talent, Annette De Thurah from the Department of Clinical Medicine, joins the committee as the faculty’s representative on AU’s Diversity and Gender Equality Committee.

What do the changes mean for you as an employee?

“Put briefly, the new focus is about planning, flexibility and family life; about clear linguistic expectations in operations and recruitment; and about a tone of interaction we can all stand behind. All of this is supported by data, so we can track developments and learn from what works,” explains Anne-Mette Hvas.

The effort is also a standing item at faculty management meetings at regular intervals, and the entire faculty management team commits to carrying the work forward across the departments and the administrative centre.

“We’re working for a lasting cultural change across our organisation—changes that make a real difference in the lab, in the clinic and in administration—changes that don’t happen overnight. We’ll only succeed if both staff and management are prepared to make a difference together, and that is, of course, our clear expectation,” says Anne-Mette Hvas.

Want to have your say?

AU’s new action plan is currently out for consultation, and at Health there are a couple of relevant dates to be aware of if you have comments or ideas you’d like to contribute:

25 November 2025: The Faculty Liaison Committee (FSU) will discuss the plan. Contact your local FSU representative, who can bring your comment to the discussion.
26 November 2025: Health’s Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will discuss the new action plan. Find your department representative or the representative for the Administrative Centre and contact them if you have input for the committee’s deliberations on the plan.

Contact

Advisor Hanne Johansen
Aarhus University, Administrative Centre Health – Faculty Secretariat
Mobile: +45 61 26 98 08
Email: hannejohansen@au.dk