Success in the Female Professors Program

The University of Stuttgart is one of 56 universities nationwide selected for funding in the Female Professors Program 2030, having successfully convinced the federal and state governments with its gender equality policies, structures, and initiatives. At the end of August last year, the University of Stuttgart submitted its "Gender Equality Concept for Parity" to the project management agency overseeing the Female Professors Program. The results of the assessment have now been announced [de].

Thanks to the funding commitment, up to three women can now be appointed to permanent W3 professorships, and the initiatives outlined in the gender equality concept can be effectively carried out to promote equal opportunities. These measures support the goal of the Female Professors Program to drive sustainable structural and cultural change, fostering greater gender equality at universities. The University of Stuttgart is confident that - as in the 2008 [de] and 2012 [de] calls for tender - it will be able to successfully fill two interim professorships. Additionally, the University of Stuttgart has applied for funding for the first time for a regular professorship, which will be filled by a female scientist through a standard reappointment process.

In its gender equality concept, the University of Stuttgart has identified five key areas of action for the coming years, which are seamlessly linked to the previous focal points of its gender equality strategy and the guiding principle of “Intelligent through diversity”:

1. Sustainable improvement in the representation of women in STEM subjects
2. Establishment of a university culture that is gender-sensitive and promotes equality
3. Encouraging early-career researchers and promoting life-phase-oriented career paths
4. Increasing the proportion of women in top scientific positions through the expansion of gender-sensitive appointment practices.
5. Further development of gender equality activities through monitoring and evaluation

Additional measures include supporting the appointment committees by professionalizing the recruitment of female applicants. The university's new female academics with children will receive individual advice and help in finding childcare options and school places.

“We are delighted about the University of Stuttgart's success in the Female Professors Program 2030,” says Rector Prof. Peter Middendorf. “The review committee's decision confirms that we are on the right track. We are implementing a range of measures to make our university more attractive to women at every academic qualification level. The program is an important lever for us to increase the proportion of female professors.”

Since 2008, the University of Stuttgart has been able to continuously increase the proportion of female professors - boosted by funding from the female professors program - from 6.3 percent to 20.6 percent in 2023.

The Female Professors Program [de] is the primary funding initiative of the federal and state governments aimed at promoting gender equality in universities. The aim of the program is to sustainably increase the proportion of women in top scientific positions and at management levels and to actively counteract the so-called leaky pipeline. Since 2008, it has been supporting female academics on their path to a lifetime professorship and encouraging them to stay in the academic system. The program has both quantitative and qualitative impacts: It not only increases the proportion of women in professorships but also strengthens the gender equality structures of the funded universities through targeted measures.