Statement by the Interdisciplinary Working Group on Women's and Gender Studies on the key issues paper of the coalition negotiations between the CDU and SPD in the Hessian state parliament, Nov. 2023

We, Hessian academics, university staff and gender research centers, are irritated by the plan noted in the key issues paper of the future Hessian government coalition to impose a general ban on "gendering with special characters" in public institutions. The ban on inclusive language at universities represents, among other things, a massive encroachment on academic freedom and will not be feasible for legal reasons alone. We expect the future coalition partners to refrain from such a proposal, to delete the passage and to stand up for a legally compliant policy and a democratic, inclusive science and society. The University of Kassel itself can look back on a history of over 35 years of historical-historical and contemporary-analytical gender studies. Gender research is an integral part of research and teaching in various subjects. Kassel's gender research stands for interdisciplinary, intersectional and international research perspectives and thus provides theoretical and empirical analyses of the pressing issues of our time.