FEM POWER

The OVGU has launched the second funding phase of the ESF-financed statewide FEM POWER program for greater equality of opportunity in science and careers. Building on the successes of the first phase, we have set ourselves the goal of firmly anchoring equality as an integral part of university development—both in structures and processes. The FEM POWER measures will be based at the Department for Equality, Diversity & Family, but will also be closely networked with the central service centers of the OVGU in order to exploit synergies and ensure broad institutional anchoring.

The university is thus not only responding to the increasing demands of national and international funding bodies such as the DFG, BMBF, and EU, but also understands equal opportunities as a prerequisite for sustainable science.

Gender Consulting

Gender Consulting is an advisory and support service offered by OVGU, aimed at faculties, research consortia and academics who require assistance in organising gender equality measures and integrating gender equality and gender aspects into research projects.

By establishing and expanding Gender Consulting (in research, third-party funding acquisition and monitoring), the aim is to ensure the long-term implementation of this initiative at OVGU. The development of a holistic approach ensures that the implementation of gender equality as a cross-cutting priority is successfully promoted and put into practice.

Diversity Consulting

The Diversity Consulting service at OVGU aims to systematically embed the principles of diversity and equal opportunities within the university’s structures and processes. This includes providing strategic advice and process support to embed diversity within the university’s structures.

Gender Recruiting

Gender Recruiting at OVGU promotes equitable and forward-looking recruitment structures with a view to sustainably increasing the proportion of women at all stages of an academic career. The focus is on a gender-equitable recruitment strategy, the removal of barriers in recruitment and selection processes, and raising awareness of gender-specific differences in application behaviour. Building on existing initiatives to promote equality and diversity, Gender Recruiting helps to make the diversity already present at OVGU more visible and to further highlight it as an existing strength.

The objectives of Gender Recruiting are to establish and further develop gender-specific and gender-equitable recruitment at OVGU, to strengthen conditions that ensure equal opportunities in recruitment and selection processes, to embed gender-equitable criteria, and to support fair access to academic careers.

As part of gender-sensitive recruitment, various support services are available, including advice on gender-fair job advertisements and appointment and selection procedures, assistance in identifying target-group-specific networks and job portals, and support in designing structured onboarding processes.

Gender-sensitive student recruitment

As a university specialising in STEM subjects, OVGU is faced with the challenge of declining public interest in STEM subjects when it comes to student recruitment.

Objective: To increase the visibility and appeal of OVGU as a place of study for girls, as the recruitment of female researchers begins with attracting female students. The first filters of interest are already established at primary school age, so it is particularly important for the recruitment of female students to take action at this early stage. Personal contact with female academics as role models and opportunities to gain practical experience of STEM subjects are hugely important in this regard. If activities are offered exclusively during leisure time, parental influence on participation is significant. For this reason, it is important to provide a mix of voluntary activities for particularly interested girls, as well as programmes organised through schools or in leisure centres.

Target groups:

1: Schoolgirls from Year 1 to Year 8

2: Schoolgirls of all year groups through STEM leisure activities

Establishment of a early-career research group to support female doctoral students

To increase the proportion of women in the post-doctoral phase of the doctoral qualification (post-doctoral students) and, in doing so, to establish and lead a junior research group within which a female post-doctoral student will work on an independent research topic in the STEM fields and gain initial leadership experience. Funding is available for a postdoctoral doctoral student with an outstanding track record. The aim at the end of the funding period is to develop a strategy to make it easier for young female researchers in the STEM fields at OVGU to pursue a habilitation.

The position is explicitly intended to provide professional development during the post-doctoral phase. On the path towards a professorship, the focus will be on key requirements relating to leadership experience, securing external funding, publishing, and establishing one’s own field of research.

Target group: Early-career female researchers (female researchers in the post-doctoral phase)