ExU Project Gender Equity 1 and 2
The promotion of equal opportunities is seen as essential at KIT. The umbrella strategy defines this as an outstanding goal and sees it as "the task of all managers to develop and strengthen the corresponding culture in their division." (KIT 2025)
The success of equal opportunity measures also depends to a large extent on the commitment of all KIT employees.
KIT therefore launched the "Gender Equity 1"and "Gender Equity 2" projects as part of its 2019 Excellence Strategy.
ExU project "Gender Equity 1"
The Gender Equity 1 project pursues the following forward-looking objectives:
- to initiate a process of cultural change and vision development initiated by the Executive Board and the Heads od Divisions with regard to the topic of equal opportunities,
- enabling discipline-specific equal opportunity approaches in the divisions, KIT departments and administration, infrastructure and technology, and
- initiate an intensive KIT-wide examination of and reflection on the topic of "diversity and equal opportunities" as an integral part of the KIT culture.
KIT's view of equal opportunities as a management issue (top-down task) and as the result of a participatory process involving all KIT members (bottom-up task), which is clearly reflected in these objectives, is recognizable in the various formats used within the framework of Gender Equity 1:
In a culture and vision workshop, the members of the Executive Board and the Heads of Divisions developed an overall strategy to strengthen (the appreciation of) equal opportunities at KIT. In so-called think tanks for the five scientific divisions as well as administration, infrastructure and technology, up to 30 people at a time developed ideas for equal opportunity measures that address the specific situation of the respective division and/or its disciplines. The overall orientation of KIT with regard to equal opportunities was always taken into consideration. Following the workshops, applications could be submitted to PEBA-CDM for financial support for the planned activities in the amount of up to €75,000/application for the duration of two years. From summer/autumn 2021 until the end of 2023, the following 14 activities were funded from Gender Equity 1 funds:
- Establishment of a CIW female engineers network [target group: women at all career levels of the KIT Department of Chemical and Process Engineering as well as alumnae] (contact: Dr. Susann Schäfer, Désirée Martin); further information: CIW female engineers network
- Getting female pupils interested in computer science through working groups and online offers [target group: female pupils from grades 8-9 up to the Abitur at schools in Karlsruhe or online in German-speaking countries] (contact: Prof. Anne Koziolek, Junior Prof. Pascal Friederich, Dr. Ioana Gheta, Kai Marquardt)
- GenAChange - Gender Audit and Change: Development of a gender audit tool for the KIT Department of Economics and Management and implementation of a pilot study to increase the interest of female students in an academic career [target group: female students and doctoral candidates] (contact: Prof. Petra Nieken, Prof. Andreas Oberweis, Dr. Gunther Schiefer, Demian Frister, Nimet Bozkurt, André Harendt, Sven Walther)
- Promotion of strategic career planning for women in Division 3 [target group: female students, doctoral candidates and postdocs in engineering sciences in Division 3] (contact: Prof. Bettina Frohnapfel, Prof. Ulrike Krewer, Annika Frede, Janika Wagner)
- EquityKIT - Engineering the Change: Sensitization of teachers and student support program to sustainably increase the proportion of female students in mechanical engineering and materials science [target group: female students, science teachers] (contact: Prof. Christoph Kirchlechner, Johanna Naumann, Dr. Johanna Lampert)
- MINTnet@KIT - The STEM network at KIT: Attracting more women to study STEM subjects at KIT by setting up an information network for high schools in the city and region of Karlsruhe [target group: female pupils before choosing a specialization in languages or STEM subjects in middle school, in the upper school before choosing the courses for the Abitur and right after the Abitur and at the beginning of the application phase at KIT] (contact: Prof. Thomas Böhlke, Dr. Maria Loredana Kehrer, Dr. Luise Kärger, Prof. Jasmin Aghassi); further information: www.mintnet.kit.edu
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Teaching assignments for gender studies in architecture and art history and strengthening women in teaching [target group: academics from the disciplines of architecture and art history or academics and experts from the disciplines of architecture and art history, culture and society] (contact: Dr. Judith Reeh)
- Research assignment: Women at the KIT Department of Architecture. The equality of women and men in the profession of architect - the historical development, the status quo and an outlook for the future [target group: employees, graduates or doctoral candidates with or about to complete their doctorate at the KIT Department of Architecture] (contact: Sandra Böhm, Dr. Anette Busse, Fanny Kranz, Nina Rind, Manuela Gantner, further information: arch.kit.edu/fakultaet/5522
- Changing the institute's culture through concrete and tailor-made changes to internal processes: A project at the meteorological institutes to implement more equal opportunities and appreciation of diversity [target group: current and potential employees of the institutes] (contact: Prof. Corinna Hoose, Jun.-Prof. Christian Grams, Dr. Martina Klose, Dr. Roswitha Marioth)
- Expansion of the study ambassador program for math and physics [target group: middle and high school students from schools in Karlsruhe and the surrounding area] (contact: Prof. Milada Margarete Mühlleitner)
- AMSEL - Offers for early mathematical support for pupils with the involvement of parents [target group: schoolchildren from grade 3 onwards and their parents] (contact: Dr. Ingrid Lenhardt, Prof. Frank Herrlich, Dr. Klaus Spitzmüller, Melanie Gebele), further information: https: //www.math.kit.edu/didaktik/seite/mathe-kids/de
- TrainMe@KIT: Student internships in organizational units in the field of administration, infrastructure and technology [target group: students of all subjects at KIT, focus: female students] (contact: Dr. Michael Stolle and Manuela Schnaubelt, HoC), further information: https://www.hoc.kit.edu/trainme.php
- Trainee program for female bachelor graduates from engineering or technical degree programs (concept) [target group: female bachelor graduates from engineering or technical degree programs at KIT and DHBW] (contact: Ernst Aumüller and Iris Göllinger, PEBA)
- Trainee program to increase the attractiveness of the technical infrastructure (practical implementation) [target group: technically-oriented female KIT students or DHBW graduates who are in the final phase of a Bachelor's degree program] (contact: Stephanie Holzer and Franziska Reinardt-Köttig, FM)
The successful applicants came together with the other people responsible for the activities and further participants to reflect on their projects and share best practices as part of a meta forum in the middle of their activity. The end of the two-year funding phase was celebrated at a closing event in October 2023.
ExU Project "Gender Equity 2"
The Gender Equity 2 project has the following overarching objectives:
- To increase the attractiveness of KIT for female candidates and thereby increase the proportion of women at professorial level,
- and thus contribute to cultural change at KIT and to increasing scientific performance
As part of the Gender Equity 2 project, various measures were developed to increase the attractiveness of KIT for female candidates from Germany and abroad.
A particular focus here was the creation of a website with important information for the target group and a guide to recruitment.
The website offers compact information and insights into working as a professor at KIT.
The recruitment guide serves in particular to support appointment committees in finding, approaching and (actively) recruiting outstanding female scientists.
Another component is the Gender Equity 2 appointment budget. It makes it possible to respond to the wishes of female candidates regarding equipment. So far, many female candidates who have been offered funds from this budget have accepted the call to KIT.
The "Gender Equity 1 and 2" projects are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science as part of the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments.
Advisor Gender and Diversity Management, Coordinator University of Excellence project Gender Equity 1
