The gender-balanced TUM

The gender-balanced TUM

The gender-balanced TUM

Contents Message from the university’s women’s representative 2 Equality and gender issues at the TUM 3 The TUM Gender Center Services offered by the Gender Center

4 6

University’s women’s representative

7

Promotion of women Coaching Center Seminars & workshops (Kompetenzspecials) mentorING Summer academy Scholarships Networks Alliance: Gender & diversity in the Graduate School Alliance: Girls in Science and Technology Agency

8 8 9 9 10 11 11 12 13

Gender consulting Equality initiatives in the academic departments Equality initiatives in the collaborative research centers (SFBs) and clusters Alliance: Gender management at the Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan ( WZW )

18 18 19

Family Service Family-Friendly University Audit Childcare facilities at the TUM Childcare during the school vacations at the TUM Alliance: Munich Dual Career Office – service, objectives, demand, and successes

21 21 23 23

Diversity Participation in national diversity projects Diversity wiki Diversity competence

26 26 27 27

Gender in research and teaching Liesel Beckmann Symposium Counseling and financial support options at the Gender Center Alliance: Department of Gender Studies in Science and Engineering

28 29

24

29 30

Appendix Quality assurance in gender equality and diversity at the TUM Concepts & terminology The TUM gender diversity check Gender diversity check for academic departments

32 32 34 38

Credits & publication details

40

20

1

Message from the university’s women’s representative I am delighted to have the opportunity to invite you to find out more about the role of the university’s women’s representative.

Women’s representative – the name says it all!

The associations with this title provide plenty of material for discussion in many situations. The term ‘women’s representative’ immediately indicates its area of responsibility: women. Not an equal opportunities officer, not a gender officer, not a diversity officer. In a maledominated technical university, could this contain an element of exclusion? The name says it all. The time is long overdue to put aside all polarizing debate between women and men and to work together to tackle the problem of inequality. This pragmatic approach means that the post of women’s representative is supported by a functioning Gender Center. Therefore, men are also ‘officially’ invited to take on board the equality mandate. To facilitate further discussions about the concept and terminology, the equal opportunities officer is also associated directly with the Gender Center. With greater resources, joint projects and initiatives can be implemented for all staff working in and around the area of science. Coaching can have a healing effect on everyone!

The women’s representative is the bestinformed person in the university.

The women’s representative has access to all the important university bodies, and thus has the opportunity to keep track of current university policy proceedings.

Established information interfaces exist with a wide variety of departments inside and outside the university.

We have a robust and extensive network - and a full schedule! Despite this, why is the widespread implementation of equality in the German science system still such a long time coming? People at the university do not recognize the ‘problem’ – “it goes without saying that we have equality – that is yesterday’s issue – now our focus is on diversity”. An additional department at university management level will continue to raise awareness of the issue into the future. Dual leadership, provided by the function of the Vice President and the position of women’s representative, represents reform in Bavaria!

The women’s representative is a confidant and has no enemies!

As an advocate for female scientists, people can turn to the women’s representative in a safe space. Meetings are confidential and usually remain under lock and key.

The job calls for diplomatic mediation skills rather than revolution. Developments are therefore gradual and take place away from the public gaze. No, nobody is against equality in our university – everyone is in favor of it, and financial support is provided.

Please contact me personally if you have any questions.

Dr. Eva Sandmann

2

Equality and gender issues at the TUM At the Technische Universität München ( TUM), 33% of students, 33% of scientists and 14% of professors are currently female. The TUM’s strategic objective of becoming Germany’s most attractive technical university for women is reflected conceptually and in day-to-day life at the university. As a learning organization, the TUM strives to ensure the greatest possible esteem and individual freedom for its employees. This esteem places gender equality and diversity at the heart of the university’s culture. Equality is therefore embedded in the TUM’s constitution, vision, and development plan, and in the university’s target agreements with the ministry. Equality is also integrated as a criterion in all quality assurance procedures and embodied at all levels of management style. It underpins the TUM’s corporate identity. The key organization responsible for implementing the principles of equality and the first point of contact for all genderrelated and diversity-related issues is the Gender Center. Managed by the university’s women’s representative, the Gender Center was established in 2009 by the board of management following the restructuring of what was then known as the Women’s Representative Office.

Percentage of women at the TUM since 1990 % 35 30 25 20 15

Students Female scientists /academics Female professors

10 5 0

3

The TUM Gender Center

The Gender Center at the TUM offers a broad range of gender policy expertise, successful equality strategies and attractive ideas and proven concepts for gender projects. The Gender Center has developed many concepts whose implementation has made the TUM a leader among German universities in all equality rankings.

The implementation of a variety of initiatives has ensured the application of proven approaches to all areas in the university, ensuring that the vision of gender equality can be universally and convincingly presented and competently implemented. The Gender Center is continuing the efforts made over the years by the former Women’s Representative Office to attract an increased number of female students (for example, the school and vacation programs for students in the Girls in Science and Technology Agency (agentur Mädchen in Wissenschaft und Technik) that were organized before 2009) and to support and retain female students in technical disciplines. The various projects relating to the ‘promotion of women’, which are well known and recognized far beyond the confines of the university, include the mentorING program for female engineering and science students, the summer academies and the seminars and workshops (Kompetenzspecials) in which female students and scientists can upgrade their skills and network. The Gender Center’s Coaching Center delivers an innovative and hugely successful service. This is where female scientists and students can avail of one-to-one and team coaching for strategic support in their academic and professional career. This coaching complements the professional advisory services provided at the university.

4

The TUM Gender Center

Girls in Science and Technology Agency

Gender ­Research

Gender in the Graduate School Women’s representative and the Gender Center Promotion of women, gender consulting, Family Service, diversity • Advice • Upskilling • Networks • Financial assistance

Gender Studies in Science and ­Engineering

WZW Gender Mana­gement

Munich Dual Career Office

Internal alliances Increasing the proportion of women and promoting women are important, particularly at a technical university. Even more important is the existence of an intellectual and social climate in which gender equality is an integral element of the university’s profile and part of the TUM’s corporate identity. The Gender Center provides gender awareness training for all target groups at the university. The objectives of such training are to help abolish gender role stereotypes, counter genderspecific attributions, and establish gender competence as a key competence at the TUM. The main programs relating to gender awareness and the promotion of women are supplemented by academic department-specific advisory services relating to equal opportunities issues. The reason for this two-pronged approach is the diversity and variety of the thirteen academic departments. In addition to the specifics of the culture in the respective discipline, the requirements in terms of equality also differ widely, particularly with regard to opportunities for getting into and moving up in particular disciplines. The particular challenges facing individual academic departments are determined in regular strategy discussions between the TUM’s Gender Center and the academic departments themselves, and form the basis for an academic department’s specific equality strategy.

Another issue addressed by the TUM and the third main field of activity of the Gender Center is the family-friendly structure of the university. The Family Service provides advice, as well as organizational and financial support to help TUM members reconcile family, work, and study. The key challenge for the future will be to expand this area to include the issue of elder care. A survey conducted among students found that more students are involved in caring for family members or dependents than in looking after children. Addressing the individual needs and opportunities of students and scientists brought to light other aspects of life diversity at the TUM. In addition to the categories of ‘gender’ and ‘caring responsibilities’, the focus of the TUM diversity strategy is on the aspects of ‘age’, ‘social background’ and ‘national background’.

The permeability of the concept of equality has also been structurally secured at the TUM for a number of years. When the Gender Center was established, various activities conducted by the former Women’s Representative Office were transferred directly to the institutions dealing with the relevant target groups. For example, the Girls in Science and Technology Agency is now based in the Student Service Center (Studenten Service Zentrum, SSZ ). The board-level Munich Dual Career Office (MDCO) in the recruitment department supports the partners of TUM scientists in searching for a job. A former employee of the Women’s Representative Office works in the Graduate School where she is responsible for the school’s gender strategy. In addition to the offices on the campuses in Munich and Garching, a gender management position was also created at the Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan.

The chair for gender studies was established in 2004.

Other academics conduct research on gender in various academic departments at the TUM. A gender colloquium takes place regularly, linking all gender research activities at the TUM. In particular, the annual Liesel Beckmann Symposium continues to generating national and international contacts.

The TUM Gender Center

5

Services offered by the Gender Center

6

Fields of action

Objectives

Ongoing initiatives

Indicators

Research, teaching / further training

To ensure quality through gender competence

• Gender

research in the Graduate School • Participation in national diversity projects • Diversity wiki • Diversity competence • Liesel Beckmann Symposium • Department of Gender Studies in Science and Engineering

• Proportion

Female representation

To increase the proportion of ­women at the various academic levels

• Coaching

Center • Seminars & workshops (Kompetenz­ spezials) • mentor ING • Summer academy • Scholarships • Networks • Girls in Science and Technology Agency • Financial assistance • Girls’ Day • Equality as part of the corporate identity

• Proportion

A family-friendly environment

To reconcile work / study and family commitments

• Family

• Utilization

• Family-Friendly

University Audit • Childcare facilities • Childcare during school vacations • Financial assistance: emergency care, maternity cover • Teleworking • Children’s room / family room • In cooperation with student services: “Studying with children” discussion group • “Family and career” infobase

• Reduction

Structures

To sustainably embed equality

• Contact

• Continuity

The TUM Gender Center

• Gender

Service

people for equality initiatives conducted by the academic ­departments, SFBs, and clusters • Gender management at the Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan

of women en­gaged in research between science and industry • Scope of research on gender issues • Proportion of female students • Proportion of female graduates of women at the various academic levels • Women with degrees • Attractiveness of the campus

of services in absenteeism • Satisfaction and productivity of parents

and ­ rofessionalism of the p advisory service • Services • University’s profile

University’s women’s representative

A women’s representative was elected for the first time at the TUM in 1989. The women’s representative is legally responsible for the scientists and researchers employed at the university. The equal opportunities officer, appointed in 1996, ensures equal opportunities for technical, administrative, and managerial staff.

The objectives of the office are to prevent disadvantages for female scientists and students, to increase the proportion of women at all academic levels, and to establish networks between women at the TUM. During their period of office, all eight of the university’s women’s representatives have established their own individual priorities and made their mark with specific campaigns. The summer academy, the Girls in Science and Technology Agency, the mentorING program, and the Coaching Center deserve special mention.

In the early years, the respective representatives and equal opportunities officers developed and applied the traditional tools used to promote women. The current role of the women’s representative covers a range of topics and services, including the promotion of women, gender consulting, family services, and diversity and gender in teaching and research.

In addition to the university’s women’s representative, the individual academic departments have their own women’s representatives to support the deans in legally implementing the equality mandate. The equal opportunities plans drawn up by the university and the individual academic departments form a solid basis for this implementation. Equal opportunities conferences are regularly convened between the university’s women’s representative and the women’s representatives in the academic departments to provide support for the continued work of the women’s representatives.

University’s women’s representative

7

Promotion of women

Coaching Center The TUM’s Gender Center provides female students and scientists at the university with one-to-one coaching to assist them with their career plan and its implementation.

Teams of academics, which may include both women and men, can also participate in team coaching sessions to professionalize their collaboration. Coaching is a type of counseling used to resolve professional problems and conflicts over a specific period of time. The coach supports the individual in implementing a project or in resolving a problem while improving his or her ability to learn and act.

The service is geared primarily toward three quality standards: • A focus on the requirements of the academic community / university • A gender-balanced / aware world view • Methodological expertise The Gender Center works with a pool of external and internal coaches, all of whom have excellent methodological expertise, gender competence, and knowledge of the university environment. Quality is ensured by selecting, training, and supervising the coaches.

8

Promotion of women

Seminars & workshops (Kompetenzspecials) Since 1993, in addition to subject knowledge, the TUM has been organizing soft skills seminars for female students and scientists on key competences; more recently, gender awareness workshops have been open to all university members. Each semester, twelve mostly one-day workshops, attended by up to twenty people, are offered, all of which are received very positively.

mentorING mentorING is a career development program for female engineers and scientists. The program combines a variety of proven tools, designed to support young academics and scientists. Its aim is to increase the proportion of women in the relevant industries and empower the women who already work in these areas:

Our partners:

1. Mentoring: Mentors from Munich-based companies advise and support female students over the course of one year as they plan their life, studies, and career.

2. Upskilling: All participants complete a seminar and training program that is suited to specific target groups and their respective skill levels. The program includes, for example, life and career planning and gender training. One feature of the mentorING program is the intensive and practical job application training for female students. With the help of HR representatives from the mentorING partner companies, this training simulates job application situations and ensures that participants are ideally equipped to deal with current industry requirements.

3. Establishing and expanding networks: Participants are introduced to a network that is relevant to their career and studies. For the women in this program, establishing links with other mentees is just as important as establishing contacts with the mentors in boosting their long-term career prospects. With the mentor ING program, the mentees’ participation in many events is particularly conducive to networking.

This sophisticated combination of methods supports female students who are studying the core curriculum (Hauptstudium), pursuing a master’s degree, or who are in the third year or later of their bachelor’s program to get started in their career. The program is aimed at female TUM students studying electrical engineering and information technology, mechanical engineering, civil engineering and surveying, computer science, or physics, or students who are on the TUM business administration (BWL), business and technology ( WITEC), and industrial engineering ( WIN) study programs.

Promotion of women

9

The program has been a resounding success since its launch in 2002. A crucial factor in its success is the upskilling and networking that it offers and the associated binding framework in which mentorING takes place. It encourages close cooperation with business and industry, where young female engineers and scientists will be employed in the future.

This cooperation exists at both the material level – all project funding is provided by the mentor ING partner companies (www.mentoring.tum.de/mentoring) – and the conceptual level in the form of a year-long interaction with trusted contacts and a lively exchange with the participating companies. Extending beyond the declared commitment of the partner companies, 60 companies have sent and continue to send employees to act as mentors on the program. As part of the Memorandum for Women in Management (Memorandum für Frauen in Führung, MMF ) in which numerous companies, the TUM included, are committed to increasing the proportion of women in management positions, the plan is to involve even more companies in order to make it easier for more female students to get started in their chosen career.

10

Promotion of women

Summer academy Since 1994, the summer academy for female students and young female scientists (Ferienakademie für Studentinnen und junge Wissenschaftlerinnen) has been an annual event in the Evangelical Academy in Tutzing with more than 100 participants each year. Attendees at the summer academy, a conference that is unique in Germany, are mainly participants from engineering faculties. They are invited to the academy to discuss key issues with female lecturers and experts from research and industry. Participants cover a range of topics in a broadly scientific, technically applied, and social context.

Scholarships

Networks

Since 1992, the women’s representative has awarded scholarships to junior female scientists as part of the Equal Opportunities Program for Women in Research and Teaching (Chancengleichheitsprogramm für Frauen in Forschung und Lehre). These scholarships have been funded since 2009 solely by the state of Bavaria. To date, more than 200 female doctoral students, postdocs, postdocs who are admitted for the qualifying examination for university lecturing (Habilitandin) and women who are qualified to lecture at a university, have had the opportunity to complete their research project and to go on to qualify for a professorship.

The women’s representatives have input into the decision-making process of the various bodies at the TUM and act as advocates in any situation where women’s issues are concerned by actively promoting equality between women and men.

Within the TUM, the women’s representatives interact with other institutions and take part in the Bavarian regional conference and the national German conference of university women’s representatives. They are also active at municipal level.

Networks exist internally at the TUM for every academic level. For example, female professors meet once a semester in a more relaxed environment to discuss strategies, such as how the presence and influence of female professors at the TUM can be enhanced.

Promotion of women

11

Alliance: Gender & diversity in the Graduate School The TUM Graduate School was established in 2009.

From the very beginning, it has been committed to equal opportunities and equality between men and women. These objectives are described in a strategy that covers initiatives to be implemented at individual and structural level in the short, medium, and long term.

The TUM Graduate School funds the post of gender and diversity officer whose remit is to implement this gender strategy. This is done by initiating, supporting, and organizing a range of measures in close cooperation with the G ­ ender Center.

The strategy covers the following issues and activities:

• Designing, organizing and supporting measures,

such as training and workshop programs, funding instruments, gender analysis and diversity strategies, which are made available across disciplines at the TUM Graduate School to the university’s doctoral students and employees.

• On request: Advising doctoral students on topics

such as career development, reconciling family and doctoral studies, support from the TUM Graduate School and the TUM Gender Center. Networking with gender and diversity officers from national and international institutions on the subject of a structured doctorate.

• Advising the Faculty Graduate Centers (13 FGCs):

In general terms, this involves analyzing problematic areas, devising and implementing suitable measures at doctoral level, for example in relation to equality, reconciling family and career responsibilities, supporting career development for female doctoral students, and developing funding instruments for emergency situations or cases of extreme hardship. It also includes developing programs to raise awareness and increase the competence of employees at the FGC in matters relating to gender and diversity management.

• Individual coaching for all doctoral students.

• Events on a variety of subjects including gender

mainstreaming, diversity management, work-life balance, career development, and the promotion of women, in cooperation with the TUM Graduate School and the TUM Gender Center.

• Representing the concerns of the TUM Graduate

School by taking an active part in relevant bodies, e.g., the equality conference, diversity working group, children’s room working group.

• Advising the Thematic Graduate Centers ( TGCs):

The TGCs generally work together with non-university research units and in some cases also with other universities. This starting point calls for a more complex set of initiatives (see FGCs) in order to appropriately incorporate the respective needs and research cultures of the participating institutions in the implementation of the initiatives.

12

Promotion of women

• Participating in conferences, workshops, and

advanced training on the relevant topics.

• Evaluating initiatives that have been implemented.

Alliance: Girls in Science and Technology Agency

Against a background of persistent gender-specific segregation in the education system and the world of work, the aim of this agency is to work with girls and young women • to interest them in science and technology,

to include schemes such as the Girls and Technology school projects, the Autumn School, and other smaller projects for schoolgirls of different ages. Since January 2011, the Course Guidance and School Programs team has been managing the agency in the TUM’s Student Service Center (SSZ ).

• to support them as they discover and test their

abilities in these areas, • to allow them to experience, through active learning

methods, how interesting, exciting, and satisfying it is to work in the scientific and technical area, • to expand their focus when it comes to studying and working, • to boost or maintain their self-confidence in their technical abilities, • to attract them to study and work in a scientific or technological field.

In 1998, the TUM’s women’s representative ran the Girls and Technology vacation program for the first time. The program is aimed at girls aged between 10 and 14 years.

In 2001, the Girls in Science and Technology Agency was set up under the auspices of the university’s women’s representative. The vacation program evolved

Approach taken by the Girls in Science and Technology Agency Educational research and socialization research shows that girls are discouraged from studying and working in the area of science and technology due to a variety of processes and mechanisms existing within the family and at school. Guided by the prevailing gender roles, girls tend to be encouraged and supported in areas considered to be ‘feminine’. They are often kept at arm’s length from science and technology, which are deemed to be ‘masculine’ in our society. From the time that they are very young, girls therefore have fewer opportunities than boys to discover and test their ability and interest in science and technology.

Promotion of women

13

This is where the Girls in Science and Technology Agency aims to make a difference: it provides girls with positive experiences in relation to science and technology. The projects are designed so that the girls experience the excitement, playfulness, and passion of science and technology. They also learn to understand complex contexts and backgrounds. The staff supports them in discovering their abilities and interests in these subjects and encourages them to have a try at things and progress further. The participants discover that their abilities and interest in science and technology are taken seriously. This in turn boosts the self-confidence of the

Girls and Technology Vacation program since 1998

girls and young women in their dealings with science and technology, and fosters their long-term interest in these areas.

Girls in Science and Technology Agency – agenda The complete range of services offered by the agency covers three main programs and a number of smaller projects.

Girls and Technology School program since 2002

TUM Autumn School

since 2003

10 to 16 -year-old girls

Schoolgirls in the 6th to 9 th grade

Girls in senior high school

Summer vacation (Bavaria)

School year

Autumn vacation (Bavaria)

In Bavarian universities and research institutes

In junior and senior high schools (Gymnasien, Realschulen and Hauptschulen)

In the TUM’s academic departments

Projects:

Projects: Selected across all research areas covered at the TUM

Projects: Selected across all scientific and technology disciplines

• Architecture • Chemistry • Biology / neuroscience • Physics

(aeronautics, energy, electrical engineering)

20 to 30 projects per year

30 to 50 projects per year

Other activities: and Computer Science

• Girls

• Girls’

Day

• Summer

14

Promotion of women

Camp

20 projects per year

Since 2003, the Girls in Science and Technology Agency has organized approximately 100 technology projects, each lasting a number of days and each of which were attended by around 1,000 girls and young women. These programs are based on the following guidelines: 1. The single-sex education approach The various projects and programs are aimed exclusively at girls. Research and empirical evidence reveal the limits of co-education and the benefits of single-sex education.

Working in female-only groups relieves participants from the pressure of role expectations in the conflict-laden area of girls and technology.

2. A continuous school program from the age of 10 These projects and programs involve girls at an age at which they are still uninhibited, naturally interested, and unburdened by contradictory role expectations.

With the Girls and Technology program, the focus of the work is therefore on the 10 to 16 -year-old age group. It is very important to start early and to continue over the years, as girls between the ages of 14 and 16 retreat dramatically from science and technology. The relevant programs, such as Girls and Technology, which includes school projects for schoolgirls in the 6th to 9 th grade, can help to prevent this withdrawal. The TUM Autumn School acts as a bridge to third-level study.

3. Educational standards and teaching method principles form the basis for the work Experience shows that challenging educational and teaching requirements must be met if the entire experience is to be productive. New ways of communicating about science and technology are therefore sought and tested in the technology projects.

Promotion of women

15

The focus is on the girls’ own participation. By experimenting, designing, building, soldering, drilling, and programming, the girls experience science and technology through their senses and through their own hands-on involvement.

• Scientific and technological content is handled in the

context of the everyday experiences and interests of the girls.

• The girls work in small groups. This enables them to

work together and benefit from greater attention from the project managers.

• The objective is comprehensive and self-determined

learning. The girls are encouraged to approach science and technology with an open heart and mind, and thus discover and test their own abilities.

4. Use of various resources These programs use the resources of the TUM and those of the many participating universities, research facilities, companies, and schools. This makes it possible in the first place to set up programs and projects for a large number of girls and young women.

Such an alliance also ensures the diversity of the programs and projects on offer and reinforces the effect of the technology projects. In particular, the Girls and Technology school program links this work with school objectives and activities. This is the only way to reach schoolgirls who do not receive any support in developing their potential in science and technology in their immediate environment.

16

Promotion of women

The fruits of this work: We are reaching girls and young women! The participants on the various programs experience science and technology as an exciting and interesting activity. The projects help them to discover their abilities in relation to science and technology; they try things out and develop them further; they feel that their interest in this area is taken seriously and supported.

Their curiosity is aroused and their self-confidence is increased. The girls and young women also find that science and technology are no longer alien concepts to them, but that they have a lot to do with their everyday lives and things that they are interested in. They discover that a technical university could be a place for them. There are many indications that this work is leading to a profound change in attitudes among girls and is expanding the focus of girls and young women when it comes to their studies and career.

• We know that the proportion of schoolgirls in the

science and technology track is demonstrably increasing as a direct effect of the Girls and Technology school program. Teachers report that the girls display greater motivation in science lessons and appear very self-confident in the implementation of experiments.

• We have established from the vacation programs

that girls participate several years in a row and their younger sisters follow them. Numerous former participants in the Girls and Technology program advance to the program at the next age level.

• In the Autumn School we meet young women

who have participated for years in the Girls and Technology vacation program.

• A survey conducted within the TUM (2009 / 10)

revealed that in the summer semester of 2009, of a total 1,500 former participants in the Girls and Technology vacation program and the Autumn School, one quarter (25.2%) are studying at the TUM (8.5%) or have already completed their studies there (16.7%). If we distinguish between graduates by academic department, one third of them completed a study program in Weihenstephan (33.2%), 23.6% studied mechanical engineering, 10.8% chemistry, 9.6% computer science and 8.0% each electrical engineering and information technology and mathematics. Among the former participants in the Girls in Science and Technology Agency programs who are currently studying, the most popular study program is mechanical engineering, closely followed by chemistry, subjects in Weihenstephan, mathematics, physics, civil engineering and surveying.

Unfortunately, in this survey, we were unable to track former participants who have taken up studies in technology and science at other universities.

These figures show that the agency’s programs • establish a long-term connection with the TUM, • help to counteract the experiences of disparagement

and disregard for the science and technology interests and skills of girls, • can have a correcting effect on the earlier experiences

of girls, with the result that girls with the appropriate inclination and predisposition internalize an interest in and aptitude for technology as part of their self-image and do not give up, even in the event of conflicts with gender-specific role expectations.

Promotion of women

17

Gender Consulting

Equality initiatives in the academic departments The quantitative and qualitative presence of both genders varies according to the individual academic departments at the TUM. This means that some academic departments have a high proportion of female students, yet a low proportion of female professors. Such departments include medicine, architecture, chemistry, sport and health science, the Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, and the recently established TUM School of Education. Other academic departments, on the other hand, have a comparatively low proportion of female students, which is also reflected at professorial level. The mechanical engineering and electrical engineering and information technology academic departments are worth particular mention in this regard, but so too are the physics, civil engineering and surveying, and computer science departments. A little more than one-third of economics students are female, while just under 17% of professors in this department are women. This differentiation still persists in many cases in individual academic departments in respect of specific study programs. Moreover, the academic departments differ not only in terms of the equality situation and the challenge that this poses – the willingness of academic departments to implement equality initiatives also varies.

In order to satisfy the specific requirements of each academic department by developing and implementing a suitable equality strategy, the Gender Center offers, in addition to the seminars, programs, and events geared toward the members of all academic departments, department-specific advice and support in the form of regular strategy 18

Gender Consulting

discussions between the TUM Gender Center and the academic departments (dean and the academic department’s women’s representative). The Gender Center has a budget at its disposal with which it can implement measures developed in these discussions.

The academic departments must ensure the sustainability of the individual activities.

A possible arrangement in this regard is that ‘only’ one start-up funding amount is paid centrally and the academic departments themselves budget for the particular initiative.

Another potential construct envisages a co-funding arrangement with the academic departments in which only 50% of a particular equality initiative is funded by the central equality fund.

Equality initiatives in the collaborative research centers (SFBs) and clusters In addition to the advice that is specific to the individual academic department and the TUM -specific or cross-departmental advice regarding the university’s equality strategy, a third strand is becoming increasingly important: advising interdisciplinary research environments, especially the research clusters in the Excellence Initiative. In accordance with the equality requirement stipulated by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG), the clusters have considerable financial resources to be used for gender equality initiatives. The Gender Center is a point of contact for providing one-to-one counseling and advice to the clusters. It also plays an active role in linking the clusters and their relevant activities in order to establish synergies through the exchange.

Gender Consulting

19

Alliance: Gender management at the Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan (WZW) The Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan endeavors to eliminate equality deficits in all areas and at all levels through a number of practical initiatives.

The individual study programs are supposed to be struc­ tured in a way that is equally attractive to both male and female students. Nevertheless, women are lost to the world of research and science particularly at the more senior levels, as the ‘leaky pipeline’ syndrome clearly demonstrates. As in the past, the significant under-representation of women at professorial level is a serious problem – even in subjects with a relatively high proportion of female students, such as nutrition science and biology.

Changing this in the medium term will require the systematic promotion of junior female scientists. The objective is to smooth the way for junior female scientists to embark on a career in science and to make it easier for them to reconcile science and par­enthood in the ‘rush hour’ of life. To do this, the WZW launched a program entitled Women in the Life Sciences – Promoting Postdoctoral Students at the WZW (Frauen in den Life Sciences – För­ derung von Habilitandinnen an der Fakultät WZW ). This promotes potential female postdoctoral students who are admitted for the qualifying examination for university lecturing (Habilitandin). One objective of the program is to attract external funding to enable these women to obtain their Habilitation, which will allow them to work as lecturers. A second objective is to create suitable conditions for WZW postdoctoral students who wish to obtain their Habili­tation by funding technical support to avoid bottlenecks in the realization of research projects arising from conflicts of objectives between professional and family requirements. In cases where maternity cover is needed, i.e., the funding of replacement staff while a woman is on maternity leave, the specific working conditions are taken into consideration so that the absence of pregnant women, who are legally precluded from ­working in a lab,

20

Gender Consulting

is offset by the engagement of replacement staff. Compatibility between study or work and family is supported at the Weihenstephan campus by numerous, complementary services offered by the TUM Family Service office.

These include counseling, babysitting and emergency childcare, childcare during school vacations, two daycare centers (Krabbelstube Weihenstephan and Dr. Gudula Wernekke-Rastetter Kindervilla), and a TUM after school care center. The aim is to establish a flexible childcare system that is embedded in the university structure, is close to the campus, and meets the needs of parents.

The academic department therefore develops strategies for expanding and supplementing the available childcare services with facilities such as an au-pair pool, a qualified mobile emergency care service, and the TUM Parents as Child Minders project (TUM-Eltern als Tages­eltern).

In future, caring for dependent relatives (elder care) will be just as important as caring for children. As part of a comprehensive ‘Science & Care’ approach, the planned establishment of a multi-generational day care center at the Weihenstephan campus is deemed to be innovative and pioneering.

In order to create a central point of contact and an interface to the other institutions of the WZW or the TUM – especially to other team members of the TUM Gender Center and its TUM Family Service office – for the areas of gender and diversity, studying as a woman, women’s academic careers, and the compatibility of career / study and family, a gender management position was established at the WZW in February 2011.

The position combines an advisory, organizational, coordinating, and strategic role and supports the women’s representatives at the WZW in raising aware­ ness of the relevance of gender aspects in all areas of science and the academic department or university.

Family Service

A Family Service office is located on all three TUM campuses. It advises staff and students at the TUM on all issues relating to the compatibility of family, work, and study.

Of particular concern to the office is the expansion of the elder care service, which was included in the target agreements in the re-auditing of the Family-Friendly University Audit (audit familiengerechte hochschule) in 2010.

Family-Friendly University Audit Following a successful audit process, the TUM was awarded the Family-Friendly University Audit certificate by berufundfamilie gGmbH (an initiative of the Hertie Foundation) in 2007. This fulfills the TUM’s social responsibility towards gender equality and the promotion of employees and students with family responsibilities. The TUM successfully completed the re-auditing process on April 16, 2010. Dr. Eva Sandmann, the university’s women’s representative, accepted the certificate on behalf of the TUM on June 11, 2010 in Berlin. The audit is valid until 2013.

Fields of action and initiatives of the Family-Friendly University Audit The objective of the Family-Friendly University Audit is to consolidate existing familyfriendly services and stimulate new strategies and initiatives in various fields of action.

The Family Service office aims to develop a coherent overall concept and, in the long term, firmly establish an awareness of family issues in the working and organizational structure of the TUM. Family Service

21

The organization of work Structuring workflows in a family-friendly way reduces the workload and at the same time increases employees’ commitment and productivity.

Human resources development Taking family situations into consideration in the recruitment and further life and career planning, as well as a comprehensive advanced training program to enhance functional and vocational competence helps to attract skilled employees and maintain ‘future-proof’ expertise.

Management skills Managers play a crucial role in ensuring that services to reconcile family, work, and study can be implemented in the normal working and academic day.

Information and communications policy Information and communication are crucial components in ensuring that the concept of a family-friendly university is a broad-based one. Continuous information on the opportunities and benefits offered by family-friendly services enhances the effectiveness of initiatives in universities and has a lasting positive effect on their corporate image.

Services for families Guaranteeing suitable childcare facilities (and care services for dependent family members) is a vital requirement for a family-friendly arrangement of working and studying conditions. The specific requirements of the individual university must be balanced with the available local services in order to reduce family-related absences.

Studying and additional academic qualifications It is crucial that universities are committed to taking on board the interests of students and junior scientists, and facilitating the family-friendly organization of study programs. This is necessary to ensure a viable balance between study, scientific work, and family.

22

Family Service

Childcare facilities at the TUM The TUM provides care facilities at all three campuses for the children of students and employees. These cater for children between one and six years of age.

The Weihenstephan campus also has an after school care center for schoolchildren. The following childcare facilities are supported by the university: TUM – Munich campus • Pfifferlinge, daycare center (age range: 1 to 3 years), 20 places for children of TUM employees and students • Städtischer Kindergarten Friedrich Schiedel, (age range: 3 to 6 years), 23 places for children of TUM employees, 24 places for children from Munich TUM – Garching campus • Ingeborg-Ortner-Kinderhaus, 36 daycare places (age range: 1 to 3 years) and 22 preschool places (age range: 3 to 6 years) for children of TUM employees and students • Sonnenkäfer, daycare center (age range: 1 to 3 years), 12 places for children of TUM employees and students

TUM – Weihenstephan campus • Dr. Gudula Wernekke-Rastetter Kindervilla, daycare center (age range: 1 to 3 years), 25 places for children of TUM employees and students • Krabbelstube Weihenstephan, daycare center (age range: 1 to 3 years), 12 places for children of TUM employees and students • Betriebskinderhort Weihenstephan, (schoolchildren from 6 to 12 years), 13 places for children of TUM employees and students

Childcare during school vacations at the TUM A vacation program for the school-age children of TUM students and employees is available at all three TUM campuses. It caters for children aged from six to twelve years. Weihenstephan also offers additional childcare for preschool children aged between three and five years during the summer vacation. The childcare service offered during vacation time is constantly being expanded and adapted to suit parents’ needs.

Family Service

23

Alliance: Munich Dual Career Office – service, objectives, demand, and successes

Our partners:

The Munich Dual Career Office (MDCO) is geared toward the partners of highly qualified TUM staff and the relevant network partners in academia and industry.

As part of an innovative recruitment strategy that aims also to retain staff, the MDCO provides a broad range of professional support services. Its focus is on delivering a comprehensive consulting service whose priority is to integrate dual career partners into the labor market. It also assists with individual career planning and educational and development opportunities. The office advises on integration issues such as house-hunting, the various authorities, childcare, schools, advanced training, language courses, leisure, culture, social, and general mobility issues. In addition to its role as a service provider in relation to these areas, the MDCO also sees itself as a communications platform for dual career issues. At regular events it sets the necessary conditions for the exchange between dual career couples and facilitates their integration into networks inside and outside the TUM. The MDCO provides support at different levels in the area of gender and diversity: at a practical level in its counseling work, ideologically in cooperation with the Gender Center and on the TUM Gender Board and as part of its public relations work or at events.

The office exerts considerable influence when it comes to the appointment of female professors. By advising and supporting dual career partners and helping to procure individual childcare places, the TUM has been able to make itself more attractive, in particular to female high achievers (especially as experience shows that men are less willing to move and follow their wives or partners, and thus to hypothetically limit their own career opportunities).

Advising female partners (76%) in dual career couples helps to directly promote career development for women. These include both female scientists and women who are employed in technical, administrative, and managerial positions in the university.

It also includes women who work in industry or teaching, or who occupy other public service positions. Their résumés are frequently characterized by breaks due to many years of supporting their career-focused partners and family-related relocations. In many cases, the Munich Dual Career Office facilitates their successful reintegration into the labor market or even the continuation of their scientific or academic careers.

The office provides support for male careers in inverse proportions – 24% of its clients are the male partners of female scientists.

24

Family Service

Munich Dual Career Office

In November 2010, as a result of its work in the area of gender and diversity, the MDCO was recognized as a Good Practice Institution in the GENDERA (Gender Debate in the European Research Area) project database. GENDERA is an EU -funded initiative whose remit is to promote equality between men and women in the European Research Area.

The MDCO currently reports 220 consulting enquiries, resulting in some 190 consulting processes. Of these, approximately 150 cases have been concluded. The number of current cases in the MDCO is almost continuously rising. One reason for this is that its target groups are expanding; another is the expansion of the network and the increasing awareness of the MDCO. At 45%, the proportion of partners of new appointees at the TUM forms the main target group. Enquiries from the partners of junior TUM scientists and from companies and institutions in the network each account for approximately 19%. A further 10% of enquiries come from the partners of existing TUM professors.

Family Service

25

Diversity

Participation in national diversity projects Diversity is predicated on the basic assumption that job satisfaction, and consequently the creativity and innovativeness of employees and students, increases with an appreciation of diversity. With regard to the educational mandate of universities, this means, in particular, giving due consideration to various types of students and their diverse requirements and enabling everyone to successfully complete their studies. In order to support this process, the TUM has been taking part in a number of nationwide projects since 2010: Diversity as Opportunity, conducted by CHE Consult, and Non-Discriminatory University, conducted by Prognos AG (commissioned by the German Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency).

The Diversity as Opportunity project focuses on ascertaining the key factors determining academic success for students and thus the adaptation to study requirements and conditions and the identification of different types of students. The QUEST survey was conducted in December 2010 as part of the project and more than 3,200 TUM students responded to it. The results of the survey help to identify more accurately the diverse experiences and wishes of the student body and to formulate improvements in the diversity services.

The Non-Discriminatory University project works at student and employee level. The project is intended to support the TUM in identifying mechanisms of discrimination and, based on these, to establish specific strategies for a fair and unbiased environment.

26

Diversity

Central to this project is the development of an indi­ cator system that can be used to identify institutional and individual discrimination within the university.

The indicator system ensures greater transparency about the actual absence or presence of discrimination, such as in the case of access to university education, the awarding of scholarships, and recruitment.

Diversity wiki The Diversity wiki is available to all TUM members as an easy-to-use portal to exchange knowledge on key issues relating to the topic of diversity at the TUM. The following are examples of questions dealt with in the Diversity wiki: What’s new in relation to diversity at the TUM? Which external events can I attend and what literature exists on specific issues? How is diversity management implemented at other universities?

The main advantages of the Diversity wiki are as follows:

Diversity competence Diversity promotes creativity and innovation, but can also lead to misunderstanding and discord due to different life experiences, ways of working, expectations, or forms of communication. This requires a measure of diversity competence, which embraces a functional as well as intrapersonal and interpersonal level. It empowers individuals to be able to deal with every type of diversity and to use this ability productively, in a personal or professional context. For this reason, the TUM Gender Center, in collaboration with the university’s Carl von Linde Academy, provides a target group-specific advanced training program for acquiring diversity competence.

The TUM’s Diversity Certificate attests to the acquisition of management skills in dealing with diversity. This is hugely important due to increasing gender equality and individualization of lifestyles, demographic change, and growing requirements for mobility and flexibility.

1. It enables an active and equal shaping of university culture by all TUM members (diversity management is a bottom-up process).

2. The TUM shows itself to be an open and modern university, which views the issue of diversity also from an equity perspective (the public image of the TUM).

3. A heterogeneous range of wiki users with a variety of perspectives generate a more comprehensive image of diversity inside and outside the TUM (a diversity of perspectives due to a diversity of wiki users).

4. It connects diversity-savvy individuals inside (and outside) the TUM.

Diversity

27

Gender in research and teaching

Gender research has diversified into all disciplines in recent years in Germany.

The integration of gender aspects into the cultural, human, social, and educational sciences is now being followed by approaches in the natural sciences, engineering, and medicine. There is an increasing realization that the integration of gender aspects into the design and planning of research projects increases the potential for understanding and innovation.

At the instigation of the university’s women’s representative, a professorship in gender studies in engineering was established at the TUM in 2004. An extremely well-developed department has evolved around this professorship. Working in close cooperation with the Gender Center, research on equality and gender issues is also conducted and promoted in relation to various business chairs, the chair for sports and health research, the chair for sports education and the associate professorship (Extraordinariat) for the history of technology. The result is a variety of projects, such as the joint development of the Liesel Beckmann Symposium.

28

Gender in research and teaching

Liesel Beckmann Symposium The annual Liesel Beckmann Symposium is a joint event hosted by the Gender Center and the TUM Institute for Advanced Study. Each year, the event focuses on a different field: previous key topics have included gender and diversity in technical culture, in medicine, in teaching, and in economics. The symposium serves to generate new issues and content for gender research at TUM and helps to promote internal and external networking. The presence of numerous speakers from Germany and abroad means that vital research cooperation projects in the area of gender can be instigated throughout Germany and internationally at the symposium.

izin der Med Gender in 2008 er . Novemb nchen 27. und 28 Herzzentrum Mü es Deutsch

TUM Gende

r Zentru

m

Gender in die Lehre

Donnerstag, 26. Novembe r 2009 TUM School of Educatio n, Schellingstr. 33, 80799

München

Gendersensible Ansätze in der Schule PD Dr. Waltraud Cornelißen, äge DJI München

Fachvortr

itssystem

Gesundhe Chancen und und Blockaden einer geschlechtergerechten MedizinRolle Schule der Lehrkräfte Gender –im r Rückblick und Forderungen Hannover hichtliche Prof. iz Universität an ihre Ausbildung Faulstich-Wie – Ein gesc Dr. Hannelore land, Universität Hamburg Duden, Leibn ers Barbara Prof. Dr. Health Lead Weitere Informationen Prepare finden Sietounter ation www.tum-ias ical Educ .de ing Med

Counseling and financial support options at the Gender Center

ol, ility Transform cal Scho al Responsib Dean of Medi – Our Soci Whiteside, Catharine Prof. Dr. to rsity of Toron Therapie Unive Exzellenzinitiative des ung und Bundes und der Länder itsforsch Technische Universität München Gesundhe Die unternehmeris ezifische che , Universität ensp Charité Berlin Frau z-Zagrosek Medizin, Vera Regit ng in der Prof. Dr. terforschu Geschlech Institut für

VeranstalterInnen: TUM

Gender un in die Clu d Diversity ster sch

Institute for Advanced

Study in Kooperation

mit dem TUM GEnDEr-ZEnTrUM

Neue For

| Arcisstraße 21, 80333

ungsfelde

-ias.de

www.tum

The Gender Center offers counseling and advice to TUM academics who wish to produce gender-balanced research. This addresses the subject-specific issue of how research content can be enhanced by incorporating a gender perspective. Gender aspects exist in all disciplines at the professional level, in research content, and at the level at which the research results are applied.

München | www.tum-ias.de

r für die

Kontakt: Dr. Eva Sandmann,

TUM GEnDEr-ZEnTrUM

| T: +49.89.289.24396

| lbs@tum.de

TUM

m.de 245 kenning@zv.tu +49.89.289.25 298 Fax München de Tel +49.89.289.25Arcisstraße 21 80333 de www.tum-ias.

Kenning Study : Christine 245 info@tum-ias. for Advanced Veranstaltung +49.89.289.25 TUM Institute Kontakt zur 246 Fax Tel. +49.89.289.25 Veranstalter:

The integration of gender aspects is not only a quality criterion for research, it is also important for a university to raise the awareness of students – the scientists of tomorrow – regarding the issue and to incorporate existing knowledge into the teaching.

The provision of counseling and advice in relation to teaching methods and skills is therefore of the utmost importance. It is also vital to address the issues and teaching examples that would be most suitable for conveying to students the relevance of gender awareness for their subject.

The counseling service offered by the Gender Center covers a broad spectrum of activities and ranges from the organization of lectures, colloquiums, and seminars on the issue of gender in the particular subject to the provision of support tailored to individual courses or research projects. The Center can also provide financial and staff support for gender-balanced research projects at all academic levels. The Gender Center subsidizes posts for postdocs in gender research and provides funds for student assistants or even scholarships for gender-related, student-organized project seminars.

Gender in research and teaching

29

Alliance: Department of Gender Studies in Science and Engineering The TUM believes in integrating gender and diversity research into the existing culture of the science and engineering disciplines. This is in line with the strategy of a technical university to integrate the core skill of gender competence into its teaching and to develop innovation potential, particularly in the area of research, through interdisciplinary cooperation.

Consequently, the Gender Studies in Science and Engineering department was set up in the Electrical Engineering and Information Technology department in December 2004.

It has been associated with the TUM’s School of Education since 2009, in order to be able to influence issues related to engineering training and practice even earlier in the education system through teacher training and educational research. The department now works with all the relevant academic departments in the TUM and is part of the concept of the Gender Center, which was established in 2009. It also supports universities, engineering sciences, policy makers, and companies throughout Germany and abroad. It interacts with partners in the social sciences, particularly in the field of gender research, through publications and projects. Research topics are dealt with in the form of ongoing assignments and externally funded projects.

These currently include the following: 1. Gender and diversity in the study and practice of science and engineering: This includes the recruitment of groups that have previously not been sufficiently integrated, the relevance of gender and diversity when structuring teaching programs and curricula, the evaluation of existing advancement strategies with regard to their lasting success, the development of career profiles and research on starting out in the professional world, occupational destination, and career development among men and women.

2. Gender and diversity in technology research and structure: This relates in particular to the question ‘Who researches how for whom?’ Our projects deal with concepts relating to mixed development teams, the sustained integration of users in innovative technology products, and the development of robots for the home and the care sector.

3. Gender and diversity in science organizations: This includes counseling and studies relating to change management in universities and companies, e.g., the development and implementation of strategies resulting from the Excellence Initiative and the career opportunities and problems faced by female scientists and managers.

30

Gender in research and teaching

The teaching of gender studies is integrated into the engineering and economics disciplines, and into teacher training in the bachelor’s and master’s programs; the department also collaborates regularly with the TUM Graduate School. The aim is to communicate interdisciplinary thinking to our future graduates and the realization that, even today, gender and diversity competence plays an important role in scientific, technological, and economic success.

Gender in research and teaching

31

Appendix Quality assurance in gender equality and diversity at the TUM Guidelines TUM gender diversity check Contents

Concepts and terminology

Concepts & terminology What is gender competence?

What is gender mainstreaming?

What is diversity management?

What is the relationship between gender equality and diversity equality?

32 32 33 33

The TUM gender diversity check What is a gender diversity check and what purpose does it serve?

The different stages of the equality process Adoption of strategic goals for the relevant area Review and situation analysis Definition of specific goals Actions to be taken

34

Gender diversity check for academic departments

33

34 34 35 35 37 37

What is gender competence?

Gender refers to the social and cultural gender characteristics attributed to women and men. These characteristics – unlike biological sex – are learned behaviors and thus can be changed. Gender competence is the ability to recognize the issue of gender when carrying out a task and to work in a way that promotes equality. Gender competence has three parts: willingness, knowledge and ability.

Willingness: This refers to the willingness to act in a way that promotes equality. This means being motivated to work toward the goal of equality and to make a contribution to gender mainstreaming. It necessitates the personal attitude or political will to actively oppose potential discrimination. This willingness to promote equality is also present in public discourse and actions.

38 Knowledge: Gender knowledge means knowledge of the social circumstances of women and men and knowing how to connect the consequences of gender norms with the corresponding subject knowledge. Gender knowledge becomes an integral part of subject knowledge when the significance of ‘gender’ in its complexity has been understood and fundamental insights from research on women, men and gender / gender studies have been taken into consideration. Gender subject knowledge refers to

32

TUM gender diversity check

aspects of gender in the respective subject area and field of action. Data on gender relationships are available and / or the data required has been defined and action is being taken to attain this data.

Ability: The implementation of a gender mainstreaming strategy requires abilities on the part of the persons responsible and facilitation on the part of the organization. Implementation means that responsibilities have been defined and the required resources, training and advice have been put in place in the respective working context. Methods and tools (aids) are used in order to identify gender aspects in the fields of action and in subject areas in order to work in a way that promotes equality.

What is gender mainstreaming?

Mainstreaming means that a specific issue, which previously had not influenced decision-making or actions taken, has now become an integral part of all decisions and processes. Gender mainstreaming means that all existing social issues that affect the diverse circumstances and interests of women and men are consistently and regularly taken into consideration, since gender neutrality as such does not exist.

Gender mainstreaming is thus consistently and regularly taking the following into consideration: • all those concerned with the diverse interests and circumstances of women and men • at the leadership level of administration, of an organization, a company in order to attain the goal of equality between women and men: • at the structural level • in the design of processes and workflows • in results and products • in communications and public relations • in monitoring and controlling.

What is diversity management?

Diversity management – also known as managing diversity – aims for a positive perception and constructive use of social diversity. This means that an institution does not just tolerate the individual differences between its members, but instead views diversity with regard to gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, lifestyle, etc., as a positive contribution.

The goals of diversity management are to achieve a productive overall atmosphere at the university, to prevent social discrimination against minorities, and to facilitate equal opportunities. Here, the focus is not on the minority, but rather on everyone at the university, with all their differences and commonalities. Diversity management is thus, like gender mainstreaming, part of human resources management.

The recognition and appreciation of diversity is very important to the TUM. The diverse potential of all TUM members will continue to be fully expressed.

The consulting framework makes it possible to deliver information about ongoing diversity projects at the TUM, which are provided specifically for target groups and across categories. This facilitates improved project planning and coordination; these benefit from the diverse expertise of the actors involved and proactively make use of synergy effects.

What is the relationship between gender equality and diversity equality?

Diversity equality means that all dimensions of diversity are consistently taken into consideration in practice. This theoretical proposal is almost impossible to implement in practice. This requirement becomes feasible when a basic category is taken as the point of departure, and where interactions between this category and the other difference categories are adopted and taken into consideration. For the TUM, the application of gender as a basic category is a relevant issue: At our university, in almost all areas and at almost all levels, there is an unbalanced ratio of women to men. Furthermore, this

TUM gender diversity check

33

ratio serves as the basis for differentiation between women and men, as well as for power and dominance relationships in all societies. This premise allows us to understand the relationship between gender and diversity in a variety of ways.

For example, the intercategorical approach: Here the model focuses on the interactions between gender and other categories of difference.

Ability / ‘disability’ Age

Cultural background

…

Gender

Skin colour

Sexual orientation

Social class

For example, the intracategorical approach: Here, the focus is on the differences within a category.

Women Gender, social class, cultural background, …

Immigrants Gender, ability, skin colour, …

Men Gender, religion, age, ...

From: Eine Formel bleibt eine Formel, Gender – und diversitygerechte Didaktik an Hochschulen, Czollek, Petro, Vienna 2008

34

TUM gender diversity check

The TUM gender diversity check What is a gender diversity check and what purpose does it serve?

The following suggestions are intended to assist the TUM and its members in taking quality standards for equal opportunities in all internal and external processes at the university into consideration. The TUM gender diversity check can be used to audit university structures and scientific cultures with regard to gender equality and family-friendly policies, and to develop them with this perspective in mind.

The existing TUM gender diversity check can be understood as a guideline for the creation and / or monitoring of equality strategies in different areas, organizational units and processes at our university.

It can be used at very different levels and is especially suitable for use in institutions like the thirteen academic departments, the individual study programs, on our three campuses, in a great number of projects, clusters, collaborative research centers (SFBs), the Graduate School and the graduate centers in the individual academic departments, as well as in the many diverse processes that define the daily activities of a university, such as the adoption of cooperation agreements, the implementation of aptitude tests, and the activities of our fundraising unit.

The different stages of the equality process Different indicators exist that can and must be used to determine the level of equality in an area and to audit the level of equal opportunity. These indicators also define the different stages that must be tackled in the process of achieving equality.

Adoption of strategic goals for the relevant area The basis of all guidelines and activities for the achievement of equal opportunities, and for the application of the definition of gender and diversity equality to the area in question, is the adoption of area-

specific strategic goals. These must be formulated at all different levels, for example, with regard to the equal participation of diverse individuals, their cultural and economic involvement, their visibility, as well as the opportunities for participation and advancement for both individuals and groups. The key factor in the successful progression of the equality process is ensuring that the goals and the implicit values are embedded in the respective context, both structurally and culturally – that is, they are understood and accepted by the actors.

Thus, widespread acceptance of the project is attained via the involvement of all the various interest groups.

The quality of an academic department-specific equality strategy and its successful implementation can be determined, for example, by the fact that it was not just adopted by all groups in the council of the academic department, but instead was prepared by a commission made up of representatives from all levels.

Furthermore, the process for achieving the equality strategy must be transparent, that is, there must be a clear and open declaration of the focus on the gender equality and diversity project and the prioritization thereof. Only a clear commitment to equal opportunities at management level can ensure the level of transparency required to ensure commitment; this is the foundation of long-term change. One part of the process is the annual monitoring of the assumptions that the strategic goals are based upon and the evaluation of experience to date, as well as the development and adoption of new strategic goals after two to five years.

The following questions can provide helpful guidelines for strategic goals and the embedding of these: • What strategic goals have been defined?

• Do the strategic goals correspond to current

developments in society?

• Are they ambitious when compared to the status quo?

• Is the gender and diversity perspective an integral part

of the strategic vision?

• In which documents (applications, statutes,

procedures, guidelines, etc.) is this embedded?

• What specific equality-related documents exist and how

is internal documentation and visibility guaranteed?

• How are the responsibilities (decision-making power,

resources, participation routines) of the equality actors defined?

• How is it ensured that the necessary gender

competence is available for all relevant decisionmaking?

• How are gender equality and equal opportunities em-

bedded in organizational and human resources development (gender monitoring and controlling, e.g., during recruitment procedures) and in financial management?

• Is the management level the ‘engine’ for implementing

the equality strategy?

• Is the responsibility for gender diversity monitoring and

controlling located at the top management level?

Review and situation analysis Differentiated data on the status quo must be updated in order to identify the need for action with regard to equality and to then translate strategic goals into concrete goals. The ratio of representatives of different groups with regard to social and national background, religious belief, and gender – still the most important differentiation category at the TUM – are obvious important benchmarks.

The most significant indicator of equal o ­ pportunity in the university as a whole and in its different sections and procedures is the number of women and men at different levels of academic career paths, as well as technical, administrative, and managerial career paths.

TUM gender diversity check

35

The percentage of women and men at the following levels must be investigated:

Questions on how to assess the status quo with regard to equal opportunities, using the example of ‘teaching’ within the framework of a course of study:

1. Entering university – MA graduates • Is there a balanced gender ratio of students / teaching

2. PhD students, academic teaching / research positions – doctoral positions

staff?

• What is its ratio with regard to other groups?

3. Junior professorships, leadership positions with regard to young academics or working groups, postdoctoral study (Habilitation) 4. Professorships, differentiated according to salary scale and / or capacity

• Are study and work conditions structured in such a

way that students and teachers can achieve a suitable work-life balance?

• Are gender aspects taken into consideration during the

evaluation of events?

5. Middle-management positions, e.g., deans and highlevel management positions, e.g., rectors, members of the board of management Other important indices are the number of women and men in temporary positions, as well as the distribution of resources like time, money, space, equipment, staff, and peer recognition.

Ideally, reviews will contain this data, which is relatively easy to collect, as well as an examination of entry and promotion processes, approval and assessment procedures, and of rules of conduct and the procedures to be initiated if these are not observed. Both quantitative and qualitative empirical methods should be used here.

The monitoring of the university’s culture is much more complex than counting heads and money; however, it is often essential in the equality process, since this provides information about the causes of inequality and barriers, and how this can be changed.

• Does the promotion of women, equality, equal

opportunity, and the content of gender research play a role during the accreditation of courses of study (gender ratio in the subject, flexible models of study, gender-balanced orientation events, taking gender and diversity-related course content into consideration, etc.)?

• Is gender and diversity competence taught during

further training of teaching staff (e.g., university teacher training)?

• Are gender and diversity aspects integrated into

information on new courses of study, when recruiting new teaching staff and when allocating teaching contracts (e.g., gender and diversity-aware student consultations)?

• Which disciplines and services (e.g., key qualifications,

work experience, etc.) contain content that takes gender and diversity research into consideration?

• How many courses and which subjects deal explicitly

with gender and diversity as an analytic and structural category and what form does this take?

36

TUM gender diversity check

Definition of concrete goals On the basis of empirically sound knowledge of equality standards in the respective area and with a view to strategic goals, the next step is to formulate concrete goals. It is now common knowledge that goals need to be SMART (specific, measured, attainable, relevant, time-bound) in order to ensure that they are achieved.

They need to be specific, that is, tailored to the area in focus, formulated in an unambiguous and precise way, and be measurable, which is relatively easy in the case of quantitative goals; in the case of qualitative goals, it is necessary to be able to determine when the goals have been achieved. There must be a good relationship between the ambitions and feasibility of the goals when these are formulated. It is essential to determine the steps to be taken if goals are not achieved, how this situation is to be corrected and whether there should be any sanctions.

women. This will not, however, necessarily mean that more women will apply to study, or for a professorship, or for a project-related management position, etc.

A family-friendly environment is not the same thing as gender equality, and a more effective way to increase the number of women is to appoint more women.

As with every other project, equality measures must have adequate levels of financing and staff in order to ensure long-term success. Ensuring sustainability also requires evaluation and monitoring. Here too, if goals are not achieved, there must be consequences (bonus system effectiveness, agreement on new annual goals and measures, etc.). Measures must be integrated in such a way that the issue remains as transparent as possible.

Questions for establishing the feasibility of measures: • Which goals and strategies have been defined for

Actions to be taken Measures for achieving equal opportunity can be designed in a great variety of ways. These can be divided into two types: personal or individual methods that relieve the pressure on and support individuals or groups, and structural methods that are suited to changing structures and culture in the long-term in a specific area. A range of diverse instruments can be used for both types: upskilling, information, financial or moral support, organizational support, awareness-raising measures for the different diversity categories, etc.

Given the variety described, it is clear that the goals and strategies of any measure must be carefully defined and that the status quo / data available, goals, and measures be analyzed. If this is not the case, it is likely that any measures, despite great commitment on the part of those involved and adequate available material, will not achieve the desired result. An example that has often been observed is childcare provision in order to increase the proportion of women. It is indeed correct that it is usually women who bear the main responsibility for childcare in our society, and therefore such provision largely assists

these measures? Can the goals be achieved using the instruments / tools available?

• Are there clear indicators of the success / failure of a

measure?

• Has adequate funding and / or staff been provided for

the measure? If so, how much and from which source (internal university funding, external funding)?

• How will the measure be evaluated? And if this is the

case, how will the results of the evaluation be used?

• How is the measure integrated into the university?

How is the visibility of the measure within the university / research situation / department ensured?

• How is the sustainability of the measure ensured?

TUM gender diversity check

37

Gender diversity check for academic departments Data analysis

• Does

all people-specific (students / academic staff/technical and administrative staff) data take gender and diversity into consideration?

• Is

all relevant data regularly evaluated with regard to gender and diversity, and is this data made available to management (including comparative data from previous evaluations)?

And do managers use this data to review and observe developments to create a basis for designing measures and strategies to achieve equality in their respective area of responsibility?

Projects and applications

• Is

the equality approach an integral part of the development of projects and applications (e.g., in DFG applications)?

• Is

care taken to achieve the most balanced gender ratio possible in research and development teams?

Recruitment

• Are

steps taken to ensure that all functions and student places at university are open to women and men, and diverse groups?

• Is

this also clearly visible in staff recruitment notices / information on courses of study?

• Are

selection procedures organized in such a way that equality between women and men is achieved?

• Are

women actively encouraged and supported when it comes to applying for management positions?

• Are

Human resources development

men actively recruited for female-dominated areas?

• Does

the gender ratio of participants in training reflect the gender ratio of the staff / students?

• Are

regular employee appraisals carried out for women and men in order to define potential and development options?

• Are

as many women as men assigned special functions?

• Do

targeted employee development and training measures exist for female employees and students and do they actively target women in your academic department?

• Is

training for professional gender equality management an integral and permanent part of training, and are the members of your academic department actively encouraged to take part?

38

TUM gender diversity check

Work-life balance

• Does

staff at all levels of the hierarchy have the option of flexible work arrangements and teleworking, and is this information made available in your academic department?

• Is

there targeted encouragement and support of fathers to take advantage of arrangements that make it easier to attain a good work-life balance?

Cooperation

• Is

the gender ratio at upper-management levels balanced?

• Do

concrete strategies and measures exist to prevent sexual discrimination, violence, and mobbing, and to take the action required if these do occur?

Institutionalization

• Is

the monitoring of the equality performance integrated into the monitoring processes of the university?

• Are

the university-wide equality goals binding and are people in your area aware of these?

• Do

binding equality standards (DFG standards) exist that apply to the entire university and are these known and applied?

• Do

binding guidelines exist on the use of gender-neutral language in all documents and on avoiding the use of images of gender stereotypes or discrimination, and how are these implemented in your academic department?

Culture in the aca­ demic departments

• Do • Is

you provide gender and diversity competence training for decision-makers in your area?

equality understood and communicated as a targeted goal for women AND men?

• Do

communication strategies exist that are targeted at women or men or other target groups (e.g., foreign students, students with disabilities, etc.)?

TUM gender diversity check

39

Credits & publication details ©2011 Technische Universität München Gender-Zentrum / Gender Center Barer Str. 21 80333 Munich Germany www.genderzentrum.tum.de Contact details Munich campus genderzentrum@tum.de, Tel. + 49 (0)89.289.22076 Garching campus gz-garching@zv.tum.de, Tel.: +49 (0)89.289.14672 Weihenstephan campus gender@wzw.tum.de, Tel.: +49 (0)8161.71.3026 Design Julie Rousset, www.julie-rousset.de Photos p. 4 © Axel Griesch Fotografie; p. 7 © Andreas Heddergott / TUM; p. 8 © Astrid Eckert / TUM; p. 10 © Johanna ­Eicher (left), © Anja Quindeau (right); p. 11 © iStockphoto.com / TommL (left), Andreas Heddergott / TUM (right); p. 13 © ­agentur Mädchen in Wissenschaft und Technik (left), © Uli Benz / TUM (right); p. 15 © agentur Mädchen in Wissenschaft und Technik (3); p. 16 © agentur Mädchen in Wissenschaft und Technik (2), © Uli Benz / TUM (bottom); p. 18 © Uli Benz / TUM; p. 19 © Uli Benz / TUM; p. 21 © Andreas Heddergott / TUM; p. 22 © iStockphoto.com / Diego Cervo (left), © Monika Laschinger (right); p. 23 © Monika Laschinger (2); p. 25 © Astrid Eckert & Andreas Heddergott / TUM; p. 26 © ­Andreas Heddergott / TUM; p. 28 © Andreas Heddergott / TUM; p. 31 © Anja Wechsler