As an equal opportunities employer, it is important to us to provide equal access for female candidates to professorial and junior positions at the University of Konstanz.
We have made a point of integrating equal opportunities into every step of the appointment process in order to ensure that the number of female appointments aligns roughly with the number of potential female candidates in every department.
We have instated a variety of instruments to ensure that appointment processes are both gender-equitable and gender-sensitive.
The numbers on newly appointed female professors are promising: Over the past six years, the numbers of female professors have steadily increased.
Active recruiting
The university departments and its Excellence Initiative institutions have adopted a policy of actively recruiting female academics.
We aim to recruit promising female academics to the University of Konstanz and to increase the number of female researchers in the individual departments as stipulated in our “Kaskadenmodell” plan. Various rules to that effect have been added to the updated guideline issued in 2016.
As practical recommendations for the active recruitment of female academics, they supplement the existing directive: “Berufungspolitik und wertschätzendes Berufungsverfahren für die Besetzung einer W3-Professur an der Universität Konstanz” (appointment policy and respectful appointment processes in W3-professorships at the University of Konstanz).
They also include databases and research portals for finding suitable female candidates as well as identifying reviewers and external researchers to serve on the appointments committee.
A suitable form is available to the chair of the appointments committee and the active recruiting officer for documentation of ongoing recruiting efforts.
Both the recommendations and the appointment policy directive are being supplemented by a checklist for the chair of the appointments committee so that he or she is able to guarantee gender-equity and gender-sensitivity in new appointment procedures. Both the internal and the external guidelines on gender politics are included in the checklist's bibliography.
Equal opportunities representatives in professorial appointment procedures
The university’s Equal Opportunities Representative (for academic staff), a faculty counterpart or a designated substitute serve on every appointments committee instated by the University of Konstanz.
This Equal Opportunities representative is responsible for monitoring the appointment process for compliance with university standards and for ensuring that female candidates are given equal access.
Under the amendment to the Landeshochschulgesetz (state law on education) of April 2014, the equal opportunities officer and her substitute are permitted to vote in appointments procedures.
Regular meetings of all equal opportunities representatives are chaired by the university’s Equal Opportunities Representative (for academic staff) and supported by the Gender Mainstreaming Coordinator.
Respectful appointments management working group
The respectful appointments management working group brings together representatives from the Rectorate, the dean’s offices, university administration and the Equal Opportunities Office (Gender Equality, Family Support and Diversity). They work to make appointment procedures more transparent and more respectful.