Introducing the new FA Ombudswoman

The selection procedure for the ombudsperson was announced by the FA CTU in June as the first faculty of CTU in Prague to seek the establishment of the institute. 

"I am proud that our faculty will have an ombudswoman. She will use her role to create a space for dialogue and confidential assistance on issues of ethics and culture in the learning and working environment. She should also be helping to promote the integration of any disadvantaged and marginalised groups and to create tools to reconcile private, study and working life. This is one of the steps of cultivating the environment of our faculty," says Dean Dalibor Hlaváček. 

The main motivation was to build a learning and working environment that is welcoming, fair, safe and respectful. In many foreign (and a few domestic) universities, the role of ombudsperson is a tried and tested practice that can help mutual understanding and communication of needs within the institution. "At FA CTU, the ombudsperson will have a largely mediation and advisory role. She should be available to both students and employees who can turn to her. We also hope that the ombudswoman's insight will enable her to identify the needs and most common problems of people at the faculty, and that she will participate in proposing functional and conceptual options for solutions," says Klára Brůhová, Chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee. 

Dita Jahodová has set among her goals the cultivation of a debate on the prevention of negative phenomena such as bullying, abuse of power, sexual harassment, as well as overwork and burnout. She also wants to work towards introducing measures that facilitate the reconciliation of personal, working and study life. 

"I would also like to develop and deepen cooperation with the FA Equal Opportunities Committee and CIPS CTU counselling centres. At the same time, I would like to establish cooperation with other ombudspersons and  from DAMU, FAMU, the Faculty of Arts of Charles University and the Faculty of Law of Charles University. As part of prevention, I will participate in the organisation and implementation of seminars and workshops," adds the new ombudswoman. 

Mgr. Dita Jahodová studied gender studies at the Faculty of Humanities, Charles University. Until 2018 she worked as an internal doctoral student at the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Social Studies of MU, taught externally at the Department of Gender Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University and worked as a researcher at the Centre for Longevity and Long-Term Care Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University. She has worked on LGBTIQ issues, intersectionality of gender and ethnicity in education and topics related to care, stigma and social exclusion. 

She is a founding member of the Gender Expert Chamber of the Czech Republic and participated in the creation of the Gender Audit Standard. She currently works at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic as an expert on gender pay equity analysis and as an independent consultant. She has experience in conducting gender audits in the academic environment as well as with private and public employers.