Several people standing behind a big KIT logo, a person is sitting in a wheelchairKIT

Equal Opportunities and Diversity at KIT

The active promotion of equal opportunities for women and men has a high priority at KIT and is a cross-sectional task in the entire organization.
More equal opportunities mean more diversity!

Especially science relies on diverse approaches, perspectives and expertise in order to find solutions to the global challenges of our time, such as the energy crisis, climate change, or the mobility of the future.

Promoting equal opportunities is essential to win the brightest minds from all career stages for jobs in research, administration and technical support facilities as well as to support all employees to reach their full potential.

It is our mission to (further) develop innovative and effective measures on the way to more parity and to advance the topic of equal opportunities in strategic projects. Therefore, the President is responsible for and accompanies the topic.

On behalf of the President, the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management (CDM) initiates and develops new measures as well as projects for more equal opportunities or further develops and implements already existing activities. The KIT Equal Opportunity Officers, who are directly assigned to the President, perform a significant advisory and control function within the frame of their legal duties by being involved in all matters related to equal opportunities within scope of their participation rights. In particular, within the scope of their right of initiative, they provide new impulses to further promote equal opportunities at KIT.

But What Does that Actually Mean for Us?

Cultural change

 

The lived cultural change at KIT serves as a catalyst for our equal opportunity work – to this end, we rely on participation processes, gender awareness and the development of gender competence.

Career Promotion

 

At KIT, we live equal opportunities and offer attractive career paths to excellent women of all experience levels and nationalities.

 

 

Further development

 

We are successfully developing our equal opportunity work to establish equal opportunity programs on the basis of extensive analyses and evaluations.

 

 

KIT Figures

Gender monitoring report 2022, annual report 2021 of KIT and 2022 disability rate

Icon for female professors
Female professors: 18 %

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Icon for female professors up to 49 years
Female professors up to 49 years: 27%

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Appointed professors: 32 %

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Icon for female doctoral researchers
Female doctoral researchers: 31 %

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Icon for female students
Female students: 29%

 

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Icon for female science and academic support staff
Female science and academic support staff: 54 %

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Icon for female employees in technical service
Female employees in technical service: 30%

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Icon for female heads of business units
Female heads of business units: 51 %

 

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Icon for international students
International students: 21 %

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Icon for international scientists and researchers
International scientists and researchers: 25 %

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Icon for employees with disability
Employees with disability: 2,89 %

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Highlights: Strategic Projects to Promote Equal Opportunities

Gender Equity 1: Cultural change towards more equal opportunities

In this EXU project, we promote the cultural change towards more equal opportunities, an intensive discussion at KIT, and joint reflection on this topic. The project also enables subject-specific equal opportunity activities in order to increase the number of women at all career levels in (mid-term).

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Project to implement the results of the evaluation of the equal opportunities policy

To identify starting points for the further development of our equal opportunities work, we evaluated our equal opportunities policy in 2018 with external support. The results of the evaluation were processed and implemented in close coordination by several KIT equal opportunity stakeholders.

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Gender Equity 2: Recruitment of excellent female professors

The recruitment of female professors is supported by this EXU project through the funding of an additional budget for appointments to recruit excellent female professors. Additionally, a newly established network promotes the visibility as well as the networking of female scientists.

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Project to establish diversity mainstreaming

Existing activities to promote diversity will be systematically expanded and networked in the sense of diversity mainstreaming, e.g. through diversity monitoring or the development of diversity competencies among managers. The goal is to further develop diversity as a cross-sectional task throughout the university and to integrate it as a core element in all processes and structures. The project is funded by the German Rectors' Conference (HRK).

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Excellence through diversity – increasing employer attractiveness through diversity-sensitive employer branding and personnel marketing:

Employer branding and personnel marketing communicate KIT's attractiveness as an employer to the outside world. Through targeted measures, this attractiveness is sharpened - especially for the recruitment of women and international top executives - and the diversity-sensitive recruitment of personnel is expanded. The project, which is funded by the Helmholtz Association, will be implemented starting in 2024.

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Testimonials: Voices from KIT

"There are equal opportunities for all students, staff and professors at KIT, regardless of gender, nationality or appearance. When I supervise students or younger scientists, it is important for me to take their diversity into account and to communicate with them personally and give advice that matches their own interests and personality."

 

JProf. Dr. Xian Liao

Institute for Analysis

KIT

"The high proportion of male students at KIT also contributes in part to the fact that young people like to refer to the city of Karlsruhe as "Kerlsruhe". The reason for this is the technical and scientific studies, which have so far attracted more men. I see that this is exactly where KIT starts with the topic of equal opportunities in order to counteract the prejudices and to promote change. Through offers such as Girls' Day, study ambassadors, and student labs, young women are made aware that these courses of study are also open to them. Cultural diversity is also present at KIT, which sheds a different light on the importance of equal opportunities in my everyday university life."

 

Janina Zhang

Student engineering education B.Sc.

KIT

"For me, equal opportunities are an important aspect when choosing an employer - and at KIT, many people are already committed to equal opportunities in science and administration! I think that's great, and it has to become a matter of course. Personally, I already get in touch with the topic of equal opportunities on a daily basis and enjoy it a lot: when accompanying scientists towards the next career step or as a trainer of workshops."

 

Ines Köhler

Personnel development consultant & diversity trainer

KIT

"I myself have three daughters aged 16, 19 and 24, so the issue of equal opportunities is very important to me personally. The KIT particularly impressed me with the good working atmosphere and the interaction between the colleagues - everyone is welcome everywhere."

 

Uwe Weber

IT administration IPEK

KIT

"Equal opportunities at KIT mean for me to focus on the value of the work and not on gender, origin or faith. I am respected and appreciated for my work both at KIT and at my institute."

 

Monika Jans

Manager Technical Services IPEK

KIT

"Diversity enables creativity. Everyone can equally support and contribute to the values and goals of KIT and receive individual support in doing so. The active promotion of women, especially in the scientific and technical environment, is the way to achieve a balanced gender ratio."

 

Bettina Auer

Training Marketing

KIT

“I believe that equal opportunities do not mean only giving equal chances to everyone, but providing more support to the ones with less access to these chances. We must put more effort on empowering women already at school level, shifting the mentality that engineering is not a “only-boys-job”, but there are exceptionally talented female engineers examples, and that they can be as much talented as (if not more!) their male colleagues. With a clear equal opportunities mind-set KIT aims to attract exceptionally talented people, particularly female researchers, providing them the instruments and training for a successful engineering career.”

 

TT-Prof. Dr. -Ing. Giovanni De Carne

Head of the "Real Time System Integration" group

KIT

"I like working at KIT because the academic environment is attractive to me and KIT deals with socially relevant issues and global challenges such as climate, energy, and mobility. I particularly enjoy meeting a wide variety of people of all nationalities here, whether they are colleagues from the administration, researchers, or students. I learn something new every day, which is for me the most important thing about my job."

 

Tu-Mai Pham-Huu

Head International Communication

KIT

Contact Persons

Ines Köhler

Acting Head of the Department Qualification of Scientific Staff, Head of the Department Gender and Diversity Management

KIT Equal Opportunities Officers

Portrait of Britta Bergfeldt
Dr. Britta Bergfeldt

Equal Opportunities Officer (usually scientific area)

Portrait of Sabine Grindler
Sabine Grindler

Equal Opportunities Officer (usually non-scientific area)

Portrait of Elke Krueger
Dipl.-Kffr. Elke Krüger

Equal Opportunities Officer (usually non-scientific area)

Portrait of Dr. Birgid Langer
Dr. Birgid Langer

Equal Opportunities Officer (usually scientific area)