Bayer 04 Leverkusen focuses on gender equality
This year’s #morethanfootball Action Weeks are in the home stretch. The motto for the start of the week is: “Gender Equality”. Bayer 04 has been committed to this topic for many years and is now focusing on it again as part of the “Bayer 04 macht Schule” project.
Regular workshops for school classes are held in the west area of the BayArena to sensitise children and young people to various social issues. The workshops are divided thematically and tailored to different class levels from first to tenth grade. Since the school year 2019/20, the topic area “sexism” has been offered with a focus on seventh to tenth grades and is part of the block of anti-discrimination workshops – alongside other events on the topic of “racism”. The importance of addressing social issues was underlined by Bayer 04 in June 2021, when the works club also signed the “Diversity Charter” as a company. An initiative that aims to advance the recognition, appreciation and inclusion of diversity in the world of work in Germany.
TEACHING THEORY AND PRACTICE
The workshop on the topic of “sexism” starts at 9 a.m. each morning in the living room of the Werkself – the “most beautiful classroom in the world”. The students deal with prejudices, attributions and role models in football. Forms of discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation are addressed and the students are encouraged to critically and reflectively deal with society’s ideas of gender, gender roles and their attributions. At the end of the three-hour event, there is a joint sports session on the timetable.
OVER 20 YEARS OF PROJECT WORK
School classes have had the opportunity to participate in the “Bayer 04 macht Schule” project since 2001. By joining the network of “Lernort Stadion e.V.” in 2018, the portfolio could be expanded to include various contents on the topic of political education. After a long break due to the pandemic, workshops can now finally take place again. In the current year, eight of the workshops have already been realised and 24 more are already planned. Further information on the “Bayer 04 macht Schule” project can be found HERE.
ACTION WEEKS WITH THEME DAYS
The #morethanfootball action weeks started on Monday, 21 March and will run until 14 April. The aim is to highlight how football clubs are living up to their social responsibility through a variety of activities. The global project, initiated by the European Football for Development Network, offers participating clubs and organisations the opportunity to inform their supporters and fans about their own community and social responsibility activities on and off the pitch through a variety of themed days, thus raising awareness of the role of football in society.
The works club already participated in the campaign last year. This time, too, Bayer 04 will present its numerous measures on the upcoming theme days. In addition to today’s motto “Gender Equality”, these include the areas of social inclusion, awareness, accessibility, peace and development, health, mental health, and much more.
ANDRICH AND WIRTZ AS OFFICIAL AMBASSADORS
The Werkself and the Bayer 04 women have already drawn attention to the campaign weeks with banners at their past home games. This year, Werkself professional Robert Andrich and Juliane Wirtz from the Bayer 04 women’s team are also supporting the campaign as ambassadors.
