Freie Universität Berlin considers “family” to be any constellation of people where close interpersonal relationships exist and the members thereof share long-term social responsibility for one another. This definition includes many different constellations, for example, people who raise children and people who care for dependents, and is not limited to the traditional concept of the “nuclear family.” It should also be mentioned that family does not necessarily play a large role in everyone’s lives. This dimension includes people whose families are not close or who have few care responsibilities.

Many members of Freie Universität Berlin are caregivers and balance their studies and/or employment with care work that they carry out for children or other dependents. One of the objectives of the Gender Equity Strategy and Action Plan at Freie Universität Berlin is to create family-friendly study and work conditions for its employees and students. The university is committed to supporting its members in balancing work, studies, and family life. It does so by implementing family-friendly human resources policies and a flexible organizational culture.

Freie Universität Berlin has decades of experience in helping university members to balance work, studies, and family life. The Family Office was set up in 2007 and later became the Dual Career & Family Service. Since 2007, the university has successfully participated in the “audit familiengerechte hochschule” (family-friendly university audit) every three years, which most recently confirmed in 2020 that family-friendly study and work conditions at Freie Universität Berlin are institutionalized at the highest level and that they continue to be developed further based on current and shifting needs. By signing the “Familie in der Hochschule” (Family at the University) Charter, Freie Universität Berlin has committed itself to continually promoting its members’ ability to balance work, studies, and family life. In 2018, it co-founded the association “Familie in der Hochschule e. V.”