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The Berlin Senate wants to further increase the proportion of women among academic staff at universities.
An existing "program to promote equal opportunities for women in research and teaching" will therefore continue through 2032, as Senator for Science Ina Czyborra (SPD) announced following the Senate meeting.
According to her, the proportion of women holding professorships has recently risen gradually to 37 percent in 2024. This makes Berlin the national leader. "But there is still much to be done before parity is achieved in research and teaching," said Czyborra. She sees a particular need to catch up in the so-called STEM fields - that is, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She also spoke of "patriarchal structures" in the field of university medicine.
Czyborra emphasized that women have an individual right to the same opportunities for an academic career as men. "And we know that there are still structural barriers in this area, and that women’s achievements are evaluated differently than men's." Such disadvantages must be offset by the support program, for which 3.57 million euros are available annually. The tools include, for example, specific appointment regulations for professorships and visiting professorships, mentoring programs, coaching, networking, gender equality officers and targeted support for early-career researchers.