Article 3 (2) of the Basic Law states: "Men and women are equal. The state promotes implementation of equal rights for women and men and works towards the elimination of existing disadvantages."  (translates by us)

In §4 (3), the Landeshochschulgesetz (LHG) assigns the University an Equal Opportunities Officer the task of supporting the university management in enforcing the constitutionally required equal opportunities for women and men and eliminating existing disadvantages for women working in science and the arts as well as women students. She also has the right to participate in appointment committees.

The goal  of gender equality meassures and controlling is to increase and ensure the quality of appointment procedures to exclude discrimination based on gender and to support the active recruitment of women if they are underrepresented.

As there are usually between 20 and 30 procedures taking place in parallelly at the University of Tübingen, the University Equal Opportunities Officer cannot perform this task herself in all appointment committees. Therefore, she commissions a personal deputy for the majority of the procedures. In this assignment, the substitute is endowed with the rights of the Equal Opportunities Officer and must therefore be fully informed and invited to commissions. Participation in appointments of the appointment committee must be made possible.

Since the amendment of the LHG of 09 April 2014, the Equal Opportunities Officer is endowed with (and also her representative) voting rights. If she or the representation holds a professorship, her vote is attributed to the professorial majority.

The representative of the Equal Opportunities Officer advises the appointment committee on ensuring equality and has the task of giving her consent or commenting on every step of the procedure in the committee meetings. However, she is not solely responsible for excluding discrimination based on gender. Rather, all members, especially the chairperson of the commission, are obliged to do so in the sense of a cross-sectional mandate.

Therefore, all procedural steps to ensure equal opportunities are integrated into the general quality assurance process for appointment procedures at the University of Tübingen ("Guidelines for Appointment Procedures") and have accompanying documents.

To ensure communication between the central Equal Opportunities Officer and her deputies, a protocol template is provided. On the basis of this report, the statement of equality on procedures is prepared by the central equal opportunities commissioner.

The protocol sheet and a detailed information sheet on the equality mandate can be downloaded here "Accompanying documents".

Downloads:

• Positions with a doctorate as a required qualification
• Positions with a habilitation as a required qualification

The data basis is provided by the higher education statistics of the Federal Statistical Office (destatis, Fachserie 11, Reihe 4.4, Habilitationen and Reihe 4.2 Promotionen nach Lehr-und Forschungsbereich). For the orientation value, 2017 - 2021 are combined to compensate for annual fluctuations and to reflect - as realistically as possible - the available women academics (in Germany) for this type of position. Internationally, higher proportions of women may also be available, so a critical approach to the value is necessary in relation to the specific call for applications.

If the destatis subject classification does not apply because, for example, several subjects are potentially available for applications, the Equal Opportunities Office contributes a calculated value into the Commission's work via the respective equal opportunities representative.

Equality policy minimum requirements or orientation values in appointment procedures specify the proportion of women to fulfill the constitutional requirement of equal opportunities for women and men. They are determined according to the so-called cascade model.

The cascade model states that the targets for the proportion of women in professorships are based on the proportion of women in the qualification required for the appointment. This is done on a subject-by-subject basis, which avoids unattainable targets for subjects with low proportions of women. Conversely, for subjects with high proportions of women, this means that the orientation values can also be above parity - i.e. over 50%.

The cascade model is not only used by the German Research Foundation, it is also enshrined in the State University Act. It was developed in Tübingen in the 1980s and has since formed the core of the University of Tübingen's equal opportunities strategy.

The Basic Law gives all members of the public service (and thus all university members) an active mandate to act by formulating an "actual enforcement" of equal rights.

The fact that this is an active mandate underlines the importance that the legislator attaches to equal opportunities. This applies up to parity - in the case of appointments to the university, in each case up to parity in relation to the respective grade level of the entire University of Tübingen.

This results in the ratio of the values from the cascade model to parity:

Up to parity (the respective career level of the university), the active action mandate applies - which also justifies active measures of equality - if other individuals are not directly disadvantaged.

The orientation value from the cascade model provides subject-related information on the existing proportion of women at the respective qualification level of the FRG. Minimum requirements for filling positions can be derived from this: If the minimum value corresponds to the staffing level of the subject area at the qualification level, equal opportunities for positions can be statistically assumed. Furthermore, the value offers the possibility of recognising possible gender bias in individual appointment procedures  - the proportion of applications or invitations - and to readjust if necessary.

If parity is not achieved, we speak of a minimum requirement (from the cascade): To achieve equality in the ‘mid-term’, it should be significantly exceeded in filling positions within a reasonable period, otherwise the equalization of life and career opportunities between the sexes will be very slow. Above parity, the value from the cascade model serves as an orientation as to whether equal opportunities are maintained in the transition from one career level to the next.

Important: Only the value from the cascade model expresses subject-related equality of opportunity. If in some subjects the proportion of women is traditionally already very high in the proportion of students, one cannot conclude from this that women may be disadvantaged. For example, in professorships from a proportion of 50% - this would disproportionately increase men's chances of obtaining a professorship individually. Until the university reaches parity at one qualification level – in subjects with a high proportion of women – this proportion must also be aimed for at the next level; subjects with a low representation of women compensate for this. Instead, if the proportion of women at higher qualification levels is perceived to be too high, efforts should be made at the lower career levels, for example with advertising measures, to increase the proportion of men there and thus influence the orientation values.

Sources

Very good tools for achieving the required minimum proportions of women in the application pool are market screenings ("Sichtung") and actively approaching female candidates. The gender-specific approach - which has also been prescribed by the LHG since 2020 - considers the different application behaviour of men and women (documented by studies).

An overview of predominantly interdisciplinary sources for screening has been compiled by bukoF .

Perhaps there are also promising candidates among the Fellows of the  Margarete-von-Wrangell-Programms or among the Athene-Grants of the Universität Tübingen?

In addition to the homepages of relevant universities, potential candidates can be searched for in scientific societies. For example, member lists or working groups can be consulted, or specialist congresses can be scanned for suitable contributions. Of course, representatives of the desired specialisation can also be asked directly.

For an international search, for example, a request to the DFG's review boards is appropriate, at least for the naming of suitable contact persons for a particular specialisation.

It is also possible to search the project database of  ERC (Starting) Grants from recent years, to search for award winners via the GEPRIS-Datenbank der DFG (DFG procedure for individual funding, e.g. Emmy Noether) or via the Humboldt-Stiftung.

“Screening Officer”

Since the LHG Amendment 2020, the Appeals Commission has been responsible for Active Recruitment. A core group from the department and the equal opportunities representative can work with the commission in advance.

Depending on the size and culture of departments, it may be appropriate to formalize a new role of ‘Process Screening Officers’ to professionalize the search, coordinate activities and facilitate communication between the dean's office and the recruiting department. The function of commissioners can also improve the continuity of the recruitment work – from the preliminary work to the establishment of the appointment committee – and monitor the results in the selection phase later.

The idea for this emerged from a workshop of the Rectorate and the deans at the end of 2022. The Team Equity has taken up these ideas and makes the concept for the new role of "Appointment Selection Officer" available for optional use in the faculties.

Download conception for the role of “Appointment Process Screening Officer”

Positions in the academic service are to be filled according to the principle of selection of the best. The evaluation of the scientific excellence of applicants is therefore the central selection criteria in an appointment procedure.

The scientific qualification must be evaluated as objectively and factually as possible. However, since it is made up of various elements, such as publication record, teaching experience or third-party funding, which on the one hand are difficult to standardize and on the other hand can be weighted differently, the evaluation is susceptible to so-called gender bias.

Gender bias is the term used to describe systematic distortion effects that have their cause in societal gender stereotypes, internalized role models and gender-specific prejudices. This unconsciously influences perception, which can lead to faulty decisions.
Studies show that CVs, research proposals and scientific publications are evaluated differently depending on whether they were submitted under a male or female name. Both men and women rate the achievements of men better than those of women. In addition, in the case of joint authorship, success is attributed to the author rather than the author, and the same behavior is evaluated positively in the case of a man and negatively in the case of a woman.

There are gender differences in our society when it comes to assessing the academic performance of female and male applicants. We all tend to judge women's performance more critically than men's, or to put it differently: what men do seems to be more brilliant to us, even if it is comparable or even the same as what women do. Those who are involved in selection procedures must therefore constantly critically check their own assessment for possible prejudices.

In this context, the consideration of disadvantages that female applicants have experienced in their academic career due to care work also plays a role. Family time should be considered when assessing performance. This also applies to male applicants. However, it should be considered that women usually also bear the significantly larger share in families in which men only take on part of the care work. This situation – as studies have shown – became even more acute during the pandemic.

In subjects where men are predominantly active in science, so-called homosocial co-optation also comes into play. This means that members of a social network tend to recruit new members according to the principle of "self-similarity", which means that same-sex promotional relationships predominate. Thus, men's prospects for support increase, while women receive less support. This also applies to inclusion in informal networks, which are crucial for a scientific career and determine the prominence of women and man scientists in the scientific community.

Women are thus in a fundamentally different situation than men when they apply for a job. They must prove their individual performance against the background of the discriminatory factors mentioned above. It is therefore important for those who take responsibility in selection procedures to be aware of these discriminatory factors to also prevent them.

The University of Tübingen considers diversity to be the basis of academic excellence and is therefore developing a university culture based on diversity and equal opportunities, in which all its members can develop and contribute their individual abilities regardless of gender, ethnic or national origin, age, social and religious background, disability or sexual orientation.

The University of Tübingen's diversity strategy is both resource-orientated (diversity as a source of creativity and innovation) and value-based (equal opportunities, tolerance, anti-discrimination and openness as guiding principles of the institution). In this sense, the diversity of its members is valued in its own right while the university strives to reduce unconscious bias and protect its members against discrimination.

All selection decisions should be science-led and non-discriminatory. Evaluations should, however, take into consideration unavoidable personal circumstances that influence a researcher's output (for example time restrictions, delays through movement between academic systems, etc.).

Establishing a researcher's scientific age is an important instrument for promoting diversity. For this, the starting point of an academic career is calculated from the acquisition of the PhD for all applications and any delays in an applicant's academic career that are due to diversity-relevant life circumstances are taken into consideration in favour of the applicant.

Systematic and ongoing reflection on bias in selection meetings is also crucial. The Equal Opportunities Officer and her representatives are happy to provide support.

The DFG has made available a collection of studies and films on bias as well as online courses and toolboxes. It also uses its own standardised procedure which can be generally recommended. The University of Tübingen is in the process of complementing its established standards for gender-equitable appointment procedures with guidelines for diversity-equitable procedures.

The controlling procedure combines the “bottom up” strategy of optimizing communication, information and further training offers including personal coaching of the equal opportunities representatives in appointment procedures with the top down strategy of close, direct cooperation between the rectorate, administration and the university's equal opportunities officer.

Components of the Controlling Procedure in Detail:

• Substitutes are appointed personally and in writing by the university's Equal Opportunities Officer for each individual procedure. If possible, independent persons are appointed who do not hold a doctorate, habilitation or temporary position in the department concerned;
• Screening activities and their documentation must take place in good time before the call for applications so that corrections can be made if necessary. Procedures and templates are systematically integrated into the quality control of appointment procedures ("Guidelines for Appointment Procedures");
• The Equal Opportunities Officer is routinely informed by the Central Administration about the composition of the appointment committee and the status of the procedure;
• The field of potentially eligible female candidates is expanded through increased international advertising and screening activities;
• Measures for active recruitment are systematically integrated into regular processes via the guidelines on appointment procedures and are documented as an attachment to the faculty's list proposal;
• Regular workshops (once or twice a semester) are offered for all currently acting deputies of the Equal Opportunities Officer;
• The leaflet "Legal basis of appointment procedures - the legal equal opportunities mandate" to inform all those involved in appointment procedures is included in the "Guidelines for Appointment Procedures" for all participants in appointment committees and the supporting offices in the deaneries;
• Communication between the Equal Opportunities Officer and her deputy in appointment procedures is ensured by means of a report template for better dovetailing of the actors involved in equal opportunities with regard to the monitoring of procedures by the other bodies;
• The Equal Opportunities Officer has a direct personal right of presentation in the Rectorate as a routine procedure in each individual procedure before the list is dealt with in the Senate;
• The Equal Opportunities Officer has access to all documents relating to the procedure,
• The equal opportunities statement on appointment procedures is prepared centrally;
• the reporting obligations on the faculty's list proposal, for example the justification of the withdrawal of suitable candidates, are extended to increase transparency and quality;
• Controlling is evaluated within the framework of annual analyses of appointment and application statistics, and the controlling procedure is continuously adapted on the basis of feedback from the equal opportunities representatives.

- Sorry, some downloads are only available in German at this time -

• Guideline for appointment procedures
• Leaflet "Legal basis of appointment procedures - the statutory equality mandate".
• Documentation form Screening
• Documentation form Active Recruitment

(A current guideline and the listed, applicable documents can be found in the download area Dez. 1, Sachgebiet 2

• Protocol template for representatives of the equal opportunities commissioners in appointment procedures (print version, deutsch)
• Protocol template for representatives of the equal opportunities commissioners in appointment procedures (digital version, deutsch)
• Leaflet on Equality in Appointment Procedures Leaflet on Equality in Appointment Procedures at the University of Tübingen (english version)

• Recommendations of the Equal Opportunities Officer on the crediting of Child-raising periods towards scientific age
•  
• Equality issues in appointment procedures: A collection of the LaKoG (deutsch)

Further Information:

• Fair appointment procedures - Recommendations for quality assurance and equal opportunities (A handout by LaKoG)
• Article: "Action must be taken. Where are the keys to increasing the proportion of women in professorships?" (in: Research & Teaching (6/14), pp. 466-467)