This section provides a list of equal opportunity measures promoted or funded by the German federal government or individual federal states.
The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funds the Chancengerechtigkeit und Vielfalt im Wissenschaftssystem (equal opportunity and diversity in the research system) initiative in five areas.
| STEM Pact and "Success with STEM" | The initiative aims to inspire and increase interest in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) among girls and female students, and to support STEM careers for women. |
| Girl's Day | An opportunity for girls to find out more about training paths and study opportunities in professions where women are under-represented (IT, trades, natural sciences and engineering). |
| Women Professors Programme | The goal of the Women Professors Programme of the federal and state governments is to increase the number of female professors and implement specific measures to bolster equal opportunity structures at German universities. In the third programme phase (2018-2022), the funding volume has been increased to €200 million. |
| Contact Point “Women into EU Research” (FiF) | The Contact Point “Women into EU Research” (FiF) supports the participation of women scientists in and from Germany in EU research. |
| Federal State | Title / Link | Brief description |
| Baden-Württemberg | MuT – Mentoring and Training | A mentoring and training programme to provide highly qualified women early career researchers with support and funding alongside employment. |
| Baden-Württemberg | scientifica | Central information portal on possibilities for improving career opportunities for women in research, in particular in STEM disciplines. |
| Baden-Württemberg | meccanica feminale | Spring academy for female students and women working in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and industrial engineering. |
| Baden-Württemberg | informatica feminale | Summer academy for female students and women interested in the research area of computer science and associated disciplines. |
| Baden-Württemberg | “PATENTE FRAUEN” Touring Exhibition (Women Inventors) | Exhibition (14 roll-up banners) on the topic of women, innovation and technology available for rental. |
| Baden-Württemberg | Mathilde-Planck-Lehrauftragsprogramm (MPL) | The programme funds teaching positions for women academics in Baden-Württemberg with the goal of increasing the number of female professors. |
| Baden-Württemberg | Auf dem Weg zur Professur (HAW/DHBW) (On the way to a professorship) | An information and qualification service for women academics interested in a professorship at a university of applied science, including information evenings, workshops and seminars on topics such as careers, appointment requirements, appointment procedures, doctorates, university teaching and key qualifications. |
| Baden-Württemberg | Brigitte-Schlieben-Lange-Programm | Support in the form of grants or employment relationships for women early career researchers with a child to help them achieve academic qualifications. |
| Baden-Württemberg | Margarete von Wrangell Habilitation Programme for Women | Funding for women early career university lecturers aimed at encouraging qualified female researchers to achieve habilitation and provide them with the material support to make this possible. |
| Baden-Württemberg | Irene Rosenberg Programme | Doctoral programme for women in innovative technical fields with the goal of encouraging qualified female engineers working in private-sector companies to complete a doctorate and providing them with financial support. |
| Bavaria | Rein in die Hörsäle! (Into the lecture halls!) | The qualification programme supports qualified female university graduates who are seeking a career as a professor at a university of applied science. The initiative was launched by the State Conference of Women’s and Equal Opportunity Officers at Bavarian Universities (LaKoF Bayern) and women's officers at universities of applied science. |
| Bavaria | BayernMentoring (Bavaria Mentoring) | Support programme for girls and young women studying or working primarily in STEM fields, in the form of mentoring, seminars and workshops at the 17 Bavarian universities of applied science. |
| Bavaria | Doctoral Fellowships | The funding programme of the State Conference of Women’s and Equal Opportunity Officers at Bavarian Universities (LaKoF Bayern) provides support for women at different phases of their careers with the goal of helping them to complete a doctorate. |
| Bavaria | Bavarian Gender Equality Grant (BGF) | In connection with the university and research programme (HWP) of the federal and state governments, the Free State of Bavaria has been making state funds available since 2008 to women postdoctoral early career researchers in the form of fellowships for female postdoctoral researchers, postdoctoral fellowships and fellowships for excellent early career researchers (post-habilitation) for a maximum period of 12 months. |
| Berlin | Berliner Chancengleichheits-Programm 2016 – 2020 (Berlin Equal Opportunities Programme) | The programme supports women early career researchers in relation to different goals: preferential successor appointments; qualification and professionalisation of female researchers and artists for a professorship; stabilisation of women's research careers in the postdoctoral phase; anchoring of gender aspects in research and teaching, and qualification of women in natural and technical sciences. |
| Brandenburg | Qualitätsstandards Chancengleichheit und Familienorientierung an brandenburgischen Hochschulen (Quality Standards for Equal Opportunity and Family Orientation at Universities in Brandenburg) | Quality standards and recommendations for the implementation of five action areas have been developed as part of a collaborative approach by the Ministry for Science, Research and Culture, the Brandenburg Rectors’ Conference, the State Conference of Equal Opportunity Officers at Brandenburg Universities and the “Familie und Hochschule im Land Brandenburg” (family life and university in the State of Brandenburg) network |
| Bremen | Orientierungshilfe für eine gendergerechte Sprache an den Hochschulen im Land Bremen (Orientation Guide for Gender-fair Language at Universities in the State of Bremen) | The Bremen State Conference of Women's Officers and the Rectors’ Conference recommend use of the orientation guide for gender-fair language by all university members. The guide provides suggestions for understandable, modern and fair language and offers creative tips for up-to-date, original and varied formulations. |
| Hamburg | Pro Exzellenzia 4.0 | The Hamburg Karriere-Kompetenzzentrum für Frauen (Careers Skills Centre for Women) supports female researchers in STEM fields, art, music, architecture and the humanities towards qualification through fellowships, workshops, coaching, lectures, advice on applications and networking for management positions. It also supports highly qualified women migrants with the adoption of strategies for a career in the research system. |
| Hamburg | Gemeinsame Kommission Gender & Diversity (GK) (Joint Committee on Gender & Diversity) | The committee funds projects and measures for Hamburg gender and queer studies at all Hamburg universities. The focus is on interdisciplinary and cross-university teaching and research projects. It also funds lectures, workshops and working meetings on the topics of women's studies and gender studies. |
| Hessen | Women’s Studies at Universities of Applied Science | Funding of research projects on the topic of “women's and gender studies” at universities of applied science. |
| Hessen | Women’s Studies at Universities | Funding of research projects on the topic of “dimensions of the category of gender – women’s and gender studies in Hessen” at universities. |
| Hessen | Mentoring Hessen | Joint project by Hessian universities to advance women’s career paths in research and industry in cooperation with companies and non-university research institutions. Four funding lines are available: “ProCareer.MINT”, “ProCareer.Doc”, “ProAcademia” and “ProProfessur”. |
| Hessen | Open Universities - Utilising Potential, Preparing Transitions | Funding of model projects to develop and test new integrative and/or practice-oriented qualification and support services for international students, students from a migration background, socially disadvantaged students, women, students with disabilities and students/graduates at a critical point in their training, for example, potentially dropping out of their courses or before transitioning to employment through funding from the European Social Fund. |
| Lower Saxony | Das Niedersachsen-Technikum (Lower Saxony Technical Studies) | The programme aims to help young women gain study and work experience in a technical discipline. |
| Lower Saxony | Maria Goeppert-Mayer Programme | The programme facilitates appointments of women researchers to W3, W2 or W1 professorships at universities, art schools and universities of applied science. |
| Lower Saxony | Dialoginitiative Geschlechtergerechte Hochschulkultur (Gender-fair University Culture Dialogue Initiative) | Since 2014, the initiative has allowed close collaboration in equal opportunity policy by the Lower Saxony State University Conference, lakog niedersachsen (State Conference of Equal Opportunity Officers) and the Ministry of Science and Culture with the aim of removing structural and habitual barriers to achieve balanced participation and contribution of women and men in teaching, research and management. The key topics are: gender-fair staff development, gender-fair management culture and gender-fair participation culture. |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | State Programme for Gender-fair Universities | The programme encompasses funding for the following three components: reinforcement of equal opportunity officers; early career support; gender studies |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Gender Report on Gender (Un)fairness at Universities in North Rhine-Westphalia | The report is published every three years and presents a summary of various analyses on developments at universities, equal opportunity practices and one focal topic in each issue. It provides an up-to-date overview of gender (un)fairness at universities in North-Rhine Westphalia from different perspectives |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Equality in Appointment Procedures | The Ministry of Culture and Science provides a guide on the equality quota in appointment procedures and an online tool to calculate the equality quota. |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Equality Projects Database | The portal of the Women's and Gender Studies Network NRW provides a systematic overview of equality policy projects at universities in North-Rhine Westphalia. |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | Ada Lovelace Project | Support for girls and young women in the form of mentoring, information and workshops with the goal of encouraging them to opt for courses of study and careers in scientific and technical fields. |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | International and Interdisciplinary Visiting Professorship for Women's and Gender Studies | Funding for a visiting professorship for women's and gender studies, rotating each semester between the state's universities. |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | Mary Somerville Assistant Lecturer Programme | Funding for the allocation of teaching positions at universities of applied science. |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | Return-to-Work Fellowships for Women Researchers | The one-year fellowship focuses primarily on supporting return to work by allowing the continuation and completion of a previously initiated research project with the aim of further qualification for a professorship or completion of a doctorate |
| Saxony-Anhalt | FEM POWER | Mentoring and coaching programme for female graduates, students and early career researchers in STEM disciplines at universities and higher education institutions. |
| Saxony-Anhalt | MeCoSa | Since 2018, the mentoring programme has supported female early career researchers and artists at universities for a period of 12 months. |
| Thuringia | Rowena Morse Mentoring Programme | Since 2018, the mentoring programme has supported female early career researchers and artists at universities for a period of 12 months. |
Funding number: 01FP1901
