University of Konstanz: Another success in the 2030 Professor Program

University of Konstanz: Another success in the 2030 Professor Program

Women continue to be underrepresented in scientific careers. This grievance wants that Female Professor Program 2030 counteract specifically. The program was launched in 2008 and has already supported over 850 professorships. In its fourth tender, which extends from 2023 to 2030, it will be financed by the federal and state governments with a total of 320 million euros. These funds are to be used to strengthen equality measures at universities and to achieve the goal of increasing the proportion of women in professorships to 40 percent by 2030.

It has been particularly successful in this context University of Konstanz presented. In the second selection round of the professor program, she successfully presented her equality concept again and has now been recognized for the fourth time in a row. Currently, around a third of professorships at the university are held by women. It is also particularly pleasing that the proportion of women in qualification positions and junior professorships is already between 45 and 50 percent.

Measures and goals

As part of the program, the university can submit applications for up to three start-up funding for the first appointment of women to permanent W2 or W3 professorships. The plan is to use the funding to continue financing important measures and to supplement new offerings. For example, the Konstanzia program for female scientists is being expanded to include an additional offer on “visibility and preparedness”. These initiatives aim to strengthen existing equality structures and promote women in top positions.

In addition, it emphasizes the need for universities to submit equality concepts that are externally evaluated in order to participate in the program. These concepts are a central component of the female professor program and help to actively promote equality between men and women at universities. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has also commissioned the project management agency DLR-PT to handle the funding measure.

Challenges and successes

Despite a well-educated potential for women, it is clear that women often have difficulty finding a place in the academic system after completing their doctorates. The proportion of women drops from 46% of doctoral students to 37% of postdoctoral candidates and finally to just 28% of professors. The female professor program aims to counteract this so-called “leaky pipeline” and to facilitate access to leadership positions in science through targeted funding measures.

In the current round of submissions, a total of 56 universities nationwide were awarded the title of “University with Strong Equal Opportunities”. These universities are now entitled to apply for additional funding to further improve equality in their institutions.