Once again, a final dissertation by a student at our university has been awarded the Marianne Menzzer Prize as the best bachelor thesis in Saxony in the field of gender and diversity research.

The bachelor thesis, titled “The Significance of Labeling in the Everyday Pedagogical Practice of Child Care Centers,” was written by Melanie Forchmann, a graduate of the childhood education degree programme in the Faculty of Social Sciences. This empirical study was completed under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Andrea Eckhardt.

The award ceremony took place in the historic hall of Villa Tillmans at the University of Leipzig, where the university’s Rector, Prof. Dr. Beate Schücking, delivered an opening address. The award ceremony, which included a prize of 500 euros, was fittingly framed by the opening remarks delivered by Petra Köpping, Minister of State for Equality and Integration. Following a presentation on “Diversity in Child Day Care” by Prof. Dr. Andrea Eckhardt and the laudatory speech in honor of the award recipient, the GEW State Chair, Ursula-Marlen Kruse, presented the certificate to Ms. Forchmann.

With the Marianne Menzzer Prize, the GEW Saxony State Association honors outstanding final dissertations that address a topic in the field of gender and/or diversity studies. The prize is named after Marianne Menzzer, a women’s rights activist and colleague of Louise Otto-Peters. Marianne Menzzer, born in 1814 in Halle, active in Saxony for many years, and who died in 1895 in Dresden, was one of the first women—women’s rights activists!—to use statistical data to support her arguments on women’s issues. In this respect, the name “Marianne Menzzer Prize” pays tribute to a dedicated woman who sought to shed light—including through scholarly research—on one aspect of gender relations, namely the issue of paid work.