Gender Equality

Gender mainstreaming is the central strategy with which gender equality processes are sustainably integrated into the existing structures of the university: All areas of TU Dortmund University implement the tasks for which they are responsible, taking gender aspects into account. As central actors, the Equal Opportunities Office (in German) and the Staff Unit Equal Opportunites, Family, and Diversity support TU Dortmund University in its mission to promote the actual equality of all genders. In their equality concepts (in German) for the years 2022 to 2026, the departments and institutions reflect on their specific situation and develop suitable measures to promote equality. For this, they set a target quota for female professors. TU Dortmund University's framework equality concept for the years 2022 to 2026 provides a comprehensive analysis of the structural data and derives fields of action for central gender equality activities at TU Dortmund University. This establishes control processes in all departments and at the central level of TU Dortmund University that sharpen the focus on active recruitment and gender-equitable personnel development among academic and academic support staff. Appointment management, for example, accompanies all appointment procedures; the procedures are standardized and carried out according to high quality standards. The proportion of female professors in TU Dortmund University's departments averaged 26% in 2021, which is in line with the national average. TU Dortmund University's target quotas agreed for 2026 are 30% on average across the departments. TU Dortmund University counteracts gender disparities at student level, for example through gender-specific activities in the individual departments and mentoring programs to combat gender-stereotypical study choices.

Together with the universities of the UA Ruhr, the mentoring³ program, which has been established for 20 years, supports female doctoral candidates and women with doctorates on their career path into science. Like the Graduate Center at TU Dortmund University, the majority of the courses offered by the Research Academy Ruhr are attended by women (over 50% of participants are women and there is no admission quota). The project female.2.enterprises - Frauen machen Karriere in der Region (in German) shows female students and academics career development opportunities in the region and prepares them for a career outside academia. The Female Faculty Club brings together all female professors at TU Dortmund University for cross-departmental discussions.