Gender

Not only was the University of Freiburg the first higher education institution in Germany to allow women to enroll, it was also among the pioneers in the gradual institutionalization of equal opportunity policy and work. After establishing a Senate Commission for the Support of Female Researchers and Students in 1986, the university appointed the first women’s representative in Baden-Württemberg in 1988 (since 2005: equal opportunity representative). A representative for female non-academic staff was appointed in 1995.
 
Freiburg again demonstrated its pioneering role in this institutionalization process in 2008 by professionalizing the field. As a means taking equal opportunity issues into account in decision-making and communication processes throughout the university and creating further synergies between the existing actors, the field was placed under the direct responsibility of the Rectorate and split up into various spheres of authority. Making the link between content and organizational structures was an important step toward the goal of tailoring existing measures to specific groups and taking on existing challenges systematically. The University of Freiburg has also changed the thematic emphasis of its equal opportunity work and expanded it to encompass the more comprehensive aspect of diversity. Thus, equal opportunity policy at the university now takes into even closer account the existing heterogeneity among employees and students. At the same time, in creating an organizational culture that embraces diversity the university intends to promote a work environment characterized by mutual respect and find innovative ways to meet the challenges presented by different life and work situations.

Legal Foundations in the Area Gender [PDF] (German)