University of Göttingen: Strong support for female scientists in 2025!

University of Göttingen: Strong support for female scientists in 2025!

With its Dorothea Schlözer program, the University of Göttingen has developed a crucial instrument for promoting equal opportunities and personnel diversity. Founded in 2009, this program aims to support equality-oriented youth development for all faculties, including the Faculty of Medicine. Every year, the university advertises positions for female scientists in the early postdoc phase in order to make it easier for young female scientists to start their academic careers. This also counteracts the leaky pipeline, a phenomenon that describes how the proportion of women in academia decreases as your career level increases.

In addition, the Dorothea Schlözer Program bundles various equality measures that are specifically aimed at the career development of young female scientists. These measures include the provision of key scientific qualifications, coaching, mentoring, advice and networking. The focus is particularly on postdocs and professors from all disciplines, which underlines the relevance of the program in today's academic landscape.

Diverse offers of support

The offerings include a career coaching program that provides coaching and qualification opportunities for postdocs. In addition, a mentoring program is integrated that offers support for postdocs and doctoral students in the transition phase. Another important program pillar, which was designed specifically for newly appointed female professors, supports entry into the university and promotes career development.

The University of Göttingen has also been awarding the Dorothea Schlözer Medal since 1958 to honor women who are committed to science and equal opportunities. This is a further step to increase the visibility and appreciation of women in science, also in the context of the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), which pursues similar goals.

The nationwide commitment to equality

A key challenge remains the low number of women in senior academic positions. Currently, only 46% of female doctoral students are successful in their careers, while the proportion of female habilitation candidates and professors drops to 36% and 29% respectively. In order to stop this trend, the BMFTR has initiated a variety of programs, including the female professor program, which will provide over 320 million euros in funding by 2030 in its fourth program phase.

In addition, the BMFTR promotes the “Diversity Connects” initiative and actively advocates for a higher representation of women, especially in the MINT area (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, technology). The proportion of women in the study area is currently 32.4%. Between 1901 and 2023, only 6.7% of Nobel Prizes were awarded to women, highlighting the discrepancy in scientific recognition.

Supported by a variety of initiatives and programs, such as Girls' Day, a day of action for cliché-free career orientation, these measures show the way to promote equality and diversity in universities. In this context, the Dorothea Schlözer Program plays a crucial role in strengthening and supporting women in scientific career development.

Overall, the combination of progressive equality policy and the diverse offerings of the Dorothea Schlözer Program proves the commitment of the University of Göttingen and is an important signal for the promotion of equal opportunities in science.