Equal opportunity strategies are the most important management tool to promote gender equality at universities. Nationwide, we can observe a progressive “evaporation” or disappearance of highly qualified female researchers as they advance in their academic careers. The so-called “leaky pipeline” phenomenon also exists at the University of Mannheim. While the proportion of female scientists among postdocs is still a strong 43 %, it drops to 37 % among junior professors and even to 22 % among professors (as of December 1, 2022). The new equal opportunity strategy for the years 2024–2028 was drawn up to help improve these figures. This is part of the University of Mannheim's strategic plan (StEP). In addition to an analysis of the status quo, the equal opportunity strategy contains measures and targets for gender distribution at the academic qualification levels. The five most important gender equality policy measures up to 2028 are:
- The institutional strengthening of gender equality work
- The expansion of evidence-based gender equality work
- Directly promoting the proportion of women in permanent professorships
- Promoting and supporting female academics in the early career phase
- Better compatibility of academic career/
profession/studies and family
You can view the new equal opportunity strategy on the website of the Equal Opportunities and Social Diversity Office.