Equal Opportunity in Appointment Procedures

The main reason that the hiring process takes a comparatively long time in Germany is that its legal framework (the Baden-Württemberg State Higher Education Act or “Landeshochschulgesetz“) is dedicated to ensuring as fair and participative a process as possible. From determining who sits in the (comparatively large) hiring committee to how the applications are evaluated and the short list generated, every procedural step is designed to ensure equal opportunity and the selection of the best candidate based on aptitude and qualification as outlined in the guidelines for appointment procedures at the University of Tübingen (“Leitfaden für Berufungsverfahren“). Each step is documented, and the accompanying documents are archived.  

With regard to the appointment of professors, a specific goal is to increase and ensure the quality of appointment procedures in order to eliminate disadvantages based on gender and to support the active recruitment of women as long as they are underrepresented. 

According to State Higher Education Act, the University Equal Opportunity Officer has the right to participate in hiring committees and to vote in the process. The representative of the Equal Opportunity Office advises hiring committees on ensuring equality and has the responsibility to give their consent or comment at every step of the procedure in committee meetings. At the same time, they are not the only person responsible for pointing out discrimination on the basis of gender. Rather, all members of the committee, in particular the chairperson, are obliged to do so.