The art of making a career and having children

Source:
http://www.unipublic.unizh.ch/
campus/uni-news/2003/0984/
Marita Fuchs 23.09.2003

The university's "Pitschi" crèche at Schönberggasse 4 opened its doors to children in May 2003. It was formally opened on Friday in the presence of the vice-chancellor, Hans Weder, and the president of the university council and member of the cantonal government, Regine Aeppli. The guest speakers spoke about future challenges, but also recalled the time before crèches were part and parcel of university life.

Marita Fuchs

University vice-chancellor Hans Weder. (Photo: Palma Fiacco)

In his welcome address in the auditorium at the University of Zurich, the vice-chancellor, Hans Weder, told the audience how special "Pitschi" is as the first crèche to be maintained exclusively by the university. "Pitschi" makes both the city and the University of Zurich more attractive locations to study in and contributes towards the development of women in academic life. While childcare primarily remains a job for the parents, crèches like "Pitschi" provide a means for combining an academic career and family life.

Regine Aeppli, Director of Education in Zurich. (Photo: Palma Fiacco)

What still has to be done

Regine Aeppli, a member of the cantonal government, spoke about a change of pattern which had started two years ago with the "Strategy for Childcare at the University of Zurich". By opening its first crèche, the University of Zurich was making clear that it was taking childcare seriously and regards it as a binding task. This reflects the conditions in society and understanding of the current roles of young people. Regine Aeppli stressed the fact that there is still more work to do in promoting the academic careers of women. Particular encouragement should be given to women to apply for lecturing posts, a concern which the university is already actively addressing.

Brigitte Woggon, Chairperson of the Committee for Equality at the University of Zurich. (Photo: Palma Fiacco)

«We definitely need more women qualifying as lecturers», urged Brigitte Woggon, Chairperson of the Committee for Equality at the University of Zurich. She is particularly keen to see young female academics receive encouragement from their lecturers. Many women did not feel that they were capable of getting over the many hurdles that stood in their way to achieving a university career. The first of these hurdles has been removed by creating the crèche places.

Katharina von Salis, Chairperson of the Steering Committee for the "Federal Equal Opportunity Programme". (Photo: Palma Fiacco)

Long-term investment

Katharina von Salis, who chairs the Steering Committee for the "Federal Equal Opportunity Programme", points towards the need for state support for childcare facilities. There is no point in first of all investing in the education and training of young people, then excluding them from working life for years because they have to look after small children. She goes on to argue that "we will need children, however, if pensions are to remain safe". Casting her mind back, she remembers taking her child to work with her when she worked as a young lecturer at the ETH Zurich. While there was a crèche back then, it only took children from the age of two. There was still an assumption back then that mothers would look after their children themselves for the first few years.

Sybille Sachs, manager of the project for the "Expansion of crèche places at the University of Zurich". (Photo: Palma Fiacco)

The House for Children and the signals that it gives out

When Sybille Sachs, the manager of the project for the "Expansion of crèche places at the University of Zurich", arrived at the University of Zurich as a lecturer, she also found that when it came to childcare, "wealthy Switzerland" was more like a developing country. Therefore, she was especially happy to join the Childcare Committee team with Julia Gerber (childcare coordinator for the University of Zurich), Elisabeth Maurer (Uni Women's Centre), Susanna Bliggensdorfer (Vice-Chancellor for Teaching) and Sergio Tassinari (childcare coordinator for the ETHZ). The "Pitschi" crèche is one of the results of these efforts. She is particularly delighted that such an attractive, centrally located building has been found to house the crèche.

Jürg Weilenmann, Chairman of the Employers' Crèche Association. (Photo: Palma Fiacco)

At the end of the event, Jürg Weilenmann, Chairman of the Employers' Crèche Association, which runs the Pitschi crèche at the university, pointed out that whilst a crèche that costs CHF 27,000 per place and several hundred thousand francs in investment is an expensive facility, it best reflects the University of Zurich's social commitment.

The opening was celebrated in the garden of the “Pitschi” crèche with an aperitif. (Photo: Palma Fiacco)

Marita Fuchs is an employee of unicom.