Heidelberg University sets new standards for women in science!

Heidelberg University sets new standards for women in science!

The Heidelberg University of Education (PHHD) has successfully applied for the 2030 Professor Program, which aims to increase the proportion of women at universities in Germany. Given the already impressive proportion of 47 percent women at the PHHD, which represents an almost equal number of professorships, the university relies on targeted and structured equality. Antje Karbe from Press & Communication spoke in an interview with Dr. Frauke Janz, the equal opportunities officer, and Dr. Wolfgang Schultz, the equality officer, discussed the PHHD's plans and successes in terms of equality in detail.

A central concern of the female professor program, which was launched in 2008, is to counteract the so-called “leaky pipeline,” in which women are steadily decreasing in representation on various academic career ladders. The proportion of women among professors in Germany is currently around 29 percent, while it is 46 percent among doctoral students and 37 percent among postdoctoral candidates. Despite the PHHD's successes, such as the high proportion of women among students, targeted funding is necessary, particularly in the areas of natural sciences and technology, in order to further reduce this discrepancy.

Measures to promote equality

The PHHD has implemented various measures to support women in science. Part of these measures include scheduling meetings to end at 5:00 p.m. to make it easier for employees with children to attend. Parenting periods are also taken into account when assessing academic performance. In addition, the university has established mentoring programs for female doctoral students through external professors and awards a prize for young female scientists to recognize outstanding doctoral theses.

Despite the positive development, it is emphasized that there are still challenges. Only 63 percent of doctoral students are women, and almost half of the professors are still men. In the future, the PHHD plans to increase the promotion of young talent and specifically encourage female students to pursue doctorates. For this purpose, qualification positions for women and bridging positions in science are being considered.

The future of equality at PHHD

One of the PHHD's more ambitious measures is the hiring of an appeals manager. This should actively recruit female professors and contribute to the structure of equality at the university. An important topic of discussion also remains the need for measures to encourage men to study in certain courses, such as primary school teaching, although only limited interest has been noted here so far.

Promoting equality in science is not only a task of the PHHD, but also central to the national balance sheet. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has adopted a comprehensive concept with the Professor Program to increase the proportion of female professors at universities. The programs strive to continuously improve equality structures and can look back on more than 900 funded professorships. In addition, a funding volume of 320 million euros is available until 2030 to advance targeted initiatives.

The PHHD pursues the goal of increasing the diversity of universities in Germany with forward-looking strategies and a clear focus on structural equality. This not only enriches the academic landscape, but also sustainably improves the quality of research and teaching. The new round of submissions for the 2030 Professor Program runs until August 31, 2025, which gives other universities the opportunity to submit their equality concepts and benefit from funding.