Fachhochschule Dortmund has been successful in the second selection round of the Joint Science Conference's Women Professors Program 2030. This means that funding can be accessed.
On February 20, 2025, an independent review panel decided that Fachhochschule Dortmund's "Gender Equality Concept for Parity" was convincing. A total of 56 universities across Germany were selected, which can now submit applications for start-up funding for the initial appointment of women to permanent professorships in the W2 and W3 grades until September 30, 2026.
"We are delighted about this recognition of our commitment to equality and parity. The funding enables us to implement targeted measures to increase the proportion of female professors and further improve career opportunities for women in science," says Sonja Hunscha, Equal Opportunities Officer at Fachhochschule Dortmund.
Fachhochschule Dortmund has already established numerous measures to promote women in STEM subjects in recent years, including the women's project laboratory and institutionalized promotion of women in the Graduate Center. The proportion of women among students is around 40 percent overall, but still less than 20 percent in the STEM faculties. Nevertheless, there has been a continuous increase in the proportion of female students in these technical and scientific faculties, which has doubled since 2009 (when participation in the Women Professors Program began). The biomedical engineering, business informatics and medical informatics study programs are particularly attractive to young women.
Share of female professors at 30 percent
At around 30%, the proportion of female professors among lecturers is still slightly below the proportion of women among students. In 2022 and 2023, almost 40% of completed appointment procedures were filled by a woman. The central task remains to increase the proportion of female professors, which is to be tackled by specifically approaching suitable female candidates and further improving appointment procedures.
Fachhochschule Dortmund was already awarded the "Total E-Quality" award in 2023 for its commitment to equal opportunities and diversity and has been involved in the Women Professors Program since 2009. With the funding from the 2030 program, Fachhochschule Dortmund will further intensify its efforts to achieve parity in teaching and decision-making structures and to strengthen career opportunities for women. The federal and state governments are providing a total of 320 million euros over a period of eight years for the Female Professors Program 2030.