Faculty of biosciences Equality

Career and personnel development measures for young female scientists are a focus of the gender equality strategy. To increase the number of female professors, it is essential to increase the number of female applicants and thus the pool of female scientists at the postdoctoral level. This is where efforts to promote young scientists come in. The institutionalization of active recruitment and the consideration of gender aspects are two instruments that are having an effect in appointment procedures, but need to be used more systematically.

The programs in Heidelberg specifically designed to promote young female executives have been extremely successful. This is shown by the career paths of the female participants who have completed the program. The three junior programs, the in-house Olympia Morata Program for the promotion of advanced female postdocs as well as the programs of the MWK Baden-Württemberg (Margarete von Wrangell Program and Schlieben-Lange Program), which are co-financed by Heidelberg University, are continuously evaluated.
Here, individual measures show structural effects, and further training on the job-related aspects of scientific careers has been established for young scientists at the university.

Good framework conditions form a central prerequisite for combining an academic career with sustainable life planning for family and children. With the “Family in Focus” program and the “Service for Families” (405 childcare places, off-peak and vacation care, 200 family apartments, parent-child rooms and nappy-changing stations), the university is committed to reconciling research, teaching and family life.