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The report also provides a basis for annual gender-disaggregated statistics
and a specified reporting system.
The First Update of the National Report on the ‘Promotion of Women in
Science’, 1996
This revealed improvements in individual areas, for example, in the
establishment of equal rights structures at universities, in legislation
improving the opportunities for reconciling a scientific career and child-
care and in the development of research on women. But the insufficient
participation of women, particularly in leadership positions, in research
institutions and in research support remained a cause for concern and
became the subject of intensive discussions at the highest government level.
A comparison of the old and new German States showed that women in
the new States were withdrawing in significant numbers from science and
scientific and technical study courses. The Bund-Länder Commission was
requested to refine and update the statistics, make comparative analyses of
the old and the new States and to collect data on current appointments to
leadership positions on an annual basis. At the same time, the German
Research Association (DFG) was called upon to report annually on the
implementation of the measures concerning equal opportunities for women
in science.
Supplementary Report on the ‘Promotion of Women in Science’, 1997
Second update
A six-point programme was adopted (Beschluß der Regierungschefs des
Bundes und der Länder):
•
Promotion of women is a task for the principals or governing boards of
universities and the directors or boards of research institutions;
•
Promotion of women must therefore be an integral part of all academic
and research policy measures;
•
Universities and research institutions are role models for other areas of
society and they must  raise awareness of the issue;
•
Clear signals are required to highlight the need for an initiative to make
equal rights for  women in science and research a reality;
•
The qualification potential of women is to be developed to a greater
extent and used  systematically in leadership positions;
•
When filling leadership positions in universities and research institutions,
the aim must be to increase the number of women considerably (The
goal set by BMBF was 20% by the year 2005).
Furthermore annual reports were to be submitted on the progress achieved
with regard to the share of women in leadership positions
First and Second National Report on ‘Women in Leadership Positions’, 1998
and 1999
These were the first reports to include data on current appointments. They
showed that women received more than 15 % of the actual appointments
(C3 and C4 levels together). They drew attention to the fact that the
research institutions have much lower numbers of women in top positions
Appendix 1
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Science policies in the European Union
than do the universities (see Fig.2.1). A meeting in 1998 stressed the
necessity of providing childcare for female scientists with children.
3 Recommendations of the German Council of Science (Wissenschaftsrat) on
‘Equality for Women in Science and Research’, 1998:
•
Men and women should have the same rights to financial support,
encouragement and mentoring at all stages of their academic careers.
•
The diversity of life planning patterns of women and men should be
compatible with careers in science and research.
•
The States and the local communities should give priority to building up
adequate childcare services. Universities and research organisations should
also provide such services.
•
The realisation of equality for women in science and research is a
strategic task for every higher education and research institution.
Equality plans with concrete targets to raise the proportion of women at
each level must be developed. Incentives to ensure that this is done
should be reflected in the budgets of the institutions.
•
Study plans and final exams should be more flexible to take into account
the diversity of life planning patterns, expectations and career wishes. Part
time study should be available to students with children or other family
responsibilities.
•
In all disciplines, a lower proportion of women than men complete the
Ph.D, and an even lower proportion habilitate. One way to change this is
to ensure that the proportion of women receiving stipends and starting
jobs at universities and research institutions should be at least equivalent
to the proportion of women who graduate from the university. At
subsequent levels, including those of professor, the proportion that
obtains the Ph.D in that field should be used as a guideline. Special
programmes for women in science will be necessary as long as female
scientists are discriminated against. In disciplines in which women are
particularly poorly represented, female candidates have to be given
priority so that change can occur rapidly.
•
All obstacles of a structural nature that hinder women from acquiring the
necessary qualifications for a professor position should be abolished.
•
Appointment procedures have to be gender-neutral. Selection criteria
that may refer to higher age of applicants or to career pauses do for
instance discriminate, at least indirectly, against women. The number of
women in promotion commissions should be increased significantly.
•
Curricula that prepare individuals for professorial positions at the
technical institutions, known as ‘Fachhochschule’, should be made more
attractive for women.
•
Transparency and competition among universities should be encouraged
during the academic qualification process. Future reforms should ensure
that adequate employment status, albeit on temporary positions, can be
offered during the different qualification stages.
•
All jobs that can be used to qualify for an academic career should be
advertised. They should be filled by competition following guidelines
developed and published for each post.
•
Universities must provide long term perspectives for outstanding young
scientists in order to strengthen science and research. Increasing both the
numbers of jobs, as well as the length of time these jobs can be held,
should increase the attractiveness of scientific careers for women.
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