The University of Bremen takes the advancement of its female scholars and scientists very seriously, and is thrilled to learn that its female professor program is once again being supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Federal States. The University has been given green light to appoint three new female professors within the context of this program. Their tenured positions will be subsidized by up to 75,000 euros each per annum over the first five years. Together with additional resources in the same amount provided by the University itself, the new third-party funding will be invested in ongoing development of the University’s overall gender equality concept. The University of Bremen is one of ten universities in Germany to score top marks for its gender mainstreaming policies and subsequent implementation.
DFG full of praise for the University’s gender mainstreaming concept
The prerequisite for receiving the maximum support possible within the female professor program is a proven and convincing policy of gender mainstreaming applied to all areas of a university. The German Research Society (DFG) had already elevated the University of Bremen into the highest research-oriented category of gender equality (Stage 4). Stage 4 entails that an already successfully established concept is continued and enhanced by the addition of further innovative measures. According to the DFG, the measures of gender mainstreaming and structures put in place by the University of Bremen are exemplary. The numerous programs for the advancement of women in all stages of their careers and for attracting young women to the sciences and engineering disciplines come in for special praise. The targeted cooperation between the Faculties and the University management is quoted as an example of good practice. The DFG is also pleased to note that Excellence Initiative funding has been allocated in support of the University’s own internal female professor program.
The University of Bremen’s Vice Rector for Research and Young Researchers, Professor Kurosch Rezwan, commented on the news by pointing out that “The DFG evaluation is a decisive factor in securing Excellence Initiative funding for graduate schools, collaborative research centers, and research training groups”. He went on to say that “our excellent performance in the area of gender mainstreaming will in future continue to play an important role in attracting third-party funding and consolidating the University of Bremen’s impressive record in this respect."
Furthermore, the Federal Minister, Johanna Wanka, has stressed on more than one occasion “that science urgently needs the expertise of highly qualified women.” Female advancement has long been one of the University’s major objectives. Dr. Martin Mehrtens, the University’s Director of Finance and Administration, is therefore “all the more pleased to see that our efforts in the field of gender equality over the years are bearing fruit. It is a great honor to be quoted as a model university for an equal opportunity At the same time, it is an additional incentive to carry on with the good work and to continue raising the quota of highly qualified female scholars and scientists at the University of Bremen.
You can obtain further information by contacting:
Universität Bremen
Referat Chancengleichheit/Antidiskriminierung
Dipl. Pol. Anneliese Niehoff
Phone +49 421 218 60181
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