Promoting equal opportunities and gender equality in education and research
Even today, the equality of women and men, as outlined in the German constitution, has not been fully implemented in all areas of our society. Consequently, federal and state legislations include provisions in higher education law to uphold this legal claim and address existing disadvantages, particularly for women.
The Gender Equality Officers at universities in Baden-Württemberg are committed to implementing the constitutional equality mandate.
The Gender Equality Officer assists the university administration in ensuring constitutionally mandated equal opportunities for women and men, and in addressing existing disadvantages faced by female students and women working in academia and the arts.
Section 4 para. 3 Baden-Württemberg State Higher Education Act
Key focus areas of the Gender Equality Officer
The Gender Equality Officer and the Office for Inclusive University Culture contribute their expertise to the decisions and concepts devised by the Rectorate, university council, senate and various other committees. They also advise members of the university on various topics and contribute to the implementation of equal opportunities at our university with services and projects that support girls and women throughout different stages of their lives. This mandate is in line with the DFG's research-oriented gender equality and diversity standards, which include the concept of intersectionality (interweaving of different social categories, for example gender, origin or ethnicity, etc.) in a person and in all their individual manifestations.
The most important focal points of the Gender Equality Officer's work are:
To achieve the seamless integration of equal opportunities regardless of gender in all areas of our university, strategic concepts, control mechanisms, and regular reviews of target achievement are essential.
- Development of the equality plan
- Preparation of the Gender Equality Officer’s annual report
- Integration of gender and diversity dimensions into university-wide strategic concepts
- Development of models to evaluate gender equality successes and manage activities
- Integration of gender in quality development and management in cooperation with the relevant university departments
- Advisory support for the integration of gender aspects in teaching content, methods and didactics
- Establishing a gender culture by teaching gender skills to all members of the University of Stuttgart
- Continuous evaluation of statistical data on the proportion of women in studies and science (gender reporting) and support for those responsible for integrating gender equality goals into routine planning and management processes (gender monitoring and gender controlling)
Attracting, retaining and promoting female scientists: Located in one of Europe's most important business hubs, the University of Stuttgart takes its responsibility for involving women in the development of technology in our society very seriously. As a training ground for future engineers and scientists, the university has a special obligation to foster young talent, particularly women, in a diversity-oriented manner and to increase the number of women in professorships. It is important that the University of Stuttgart not only attracts highly qualified female scientists, but that it also retains them:
- Active monitoring of appointment procedures by the Equal Opportunities Officer
- Ensuring gender-equitable appointment procedures through the rules set out in the University of Stuttgart's appointment guidelines (only available internally)
- Professionalization and transparency of recruitment procedures to increase equal opportunities
- Integration of gender in concepts for personnel development through the mentoring programs for women (TryScience student mentoring, StartScience for female students) and integration of gender in the GRADUS mentoring programs
- Integration of gender awareness and gender competencies into the management culture
- Integration of gender issues in further education and training courses
- Information and advice on active recruitment
Gender mainstreaming aims to improve the quality of public policies, programs and projects and to ensure a more efficient use of resources for a more socially just and sustainable society by taking into account the different impacts on gender. In the university context, it aims to implement structural measures to anchor gender equality at both central and decentralized levels. In this context, our measures focus on:
- Improving the compatibility of family, career, and studying
- Promoting equal opportunities for women and girls
- Active support and advice for appointment committees, along with the expansion of gender-sensitive and diversity-oriented appointment management.
- Advice on shaping your academic career and on funding opportunities during your studies and in the academic sector
- Guidance on shaping your academic career and exploring funding opportunities in education and research
- Professionalizing the implementation of gender equality by providing expertise and offering internal university workshops and advice
Reports from the Gender Equality Officer [de]
An inclusive place to work and study
Contact
Grazia Lamanna
Dr.Gender Equality Officer