New approaches to equality: How diversity is revolutionizing education”

New approaches to equality: How diversity is revolutionizing education”

PD Dr. Laura Froehlich takes over during the term of office of Prof. Dr. Stefan Stuermer teaches social psychology at the FernUniversität in Hagen. This decision, announced on May 28, 2025, follows a number of significant scientific achievements by Froehlich, who worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Streiter from 2015 to 2021. After moving to the CATALPA research center, where she successfully completed her habilitation at the Faculty of Psychology in 2023, she is bringing a breath of fresh air to her teaching and research work.

The “Stereotype Threat” junior group she leads has received positive interim evaluations. Froehlich herself emphasizes the importance of continuity in the teaching area as well as the support from her team and the faculty. The new teaching content in the Master's program in Business Psychology includes an introduction to psychology for economists and a module that deals with sustainability and intercultural communication.

Research focus and social relevance

In her research, Froehlich examines central aspects of diversity in educational processes as well as gender-related inequalities. She analyzes how social factors such as origin and socioeconomic status influence educational processes in both schools and universities. As part of a DFG-funded project, she is examining the question of how students write scientific texts in learning groups and what personal backgrounds they bring to the table.

Another focus of her work is gender inequality in the workplace and at home. Here she cooperates with Prof. Dr. Angela Dorrough to examine national and international differences. Her research group analyzes how stereotypes influence students' academic success and social integration.

Social challenges: gender equality

The issue of gender equality has become more important in recent years. According to the German Basic Law, more precisely Article 3 (2), equal rights for men and women are enshrined. While the term “equality” covers the legal aspects, equality translates political measures into concrete realities of life. The Hans Böckler Foundation and the WSI GenderDataPortal offer a wide range of statistics on gender inequality and gender issues.

• Im Jahr 2020 arbeiteten Frauen im Durchschnitt 7,9 Stunden weniger als Männer.
• 46 % der Frauen und nur 11 % der Männer sind Teilzeit beschäftigt.
• 63 % der Frauen ohne Kinder sind in Vollzeit beschäftigt, jedoch nur 29 % der Mütter.
• Der Gender Pay Gap betrug 2020 18 %, was bedeutet, dass Frauen für die gleiche Arbeit weniger verdienen als Männer.
• In Führungspositionen sind Frauen stark unterrepräsentiert: Sie machen nur 11 % der Vorstandsposten und 32 % der Aufsichtsratspositionen aus.

The coronavirus pandemic has once again made equality more difficult, especially for mothers, who have often been forced to reduce their working hours - 19% of mothers, but only 6% of fathers. Policies during this period favored men, further reinforcing existing inequalities. Proposals to improve equality include, among other things, a reform of spouse splitting and the expansion of childcare options.

At a time when the interactions between gender and education are increasingly coming into focus, the research of PD Dr. Laura Froehlich of great relevance. It makes an important contribution to raising awareness of gender-related disparities in education and employment and thus contributes to the creation of a fairer society.