“On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in particular, I’d like to encourage all women and schoolgirls to forge a path toward academia,” says Professor Irmgard Förster, Vice Rector for Equal Opportunity and Diversity. “Equal opportunity is essential for excellent research and innovation, which is why we at the University of Bonn are focusing on putting structures in place that support talented female researchers and facilitate their career progression.” Förster is working toward this objective together with her team and Gabriele Alonso Rodriguez, the University Gender Equality Commissioner.
One key target, for example, is increasing the percentage of female professors, an area in which the University of Bonn has made major progress in recent years: Whereas women held only 19 percent of professorships in 2019, by 2024 the figure had risen as high as 30 percent. “Our many varied measures are bearing fruit,” Alonso Rodriguez explains. “We need to stick at it if we really do want everyone in academia to have the same opportunities. There’s still plenty to do in that regard.” Now there is a target of having 33 percent of professorships filled with women by 2030.
To achieve this while also supporting women and schoolgirls in academia, the University of Bonn has a fair few projects under way. Through talent scouting at schools, mentoring opportunities, scholarships and networks, it is supporting female researchers at all stages of their careers and demonstrating an active commitment to a diverse working environment free of discrimination. These programs and initiatives include:
The STEP program
The significant increase in the percentage of women professors has much to do with the University-wide “Strengthening the Equal Opportunity Process” (STEP) program, which is a key pillar of its Excellence Strategy. Implemented by University management using Excellence funding, it supports female researchers throughout their career at the University. This includes giving them more money, personnel and time for their research and raising their profile through involvement in academic networks.
MeTra
The Gender Equality Office’s MeTra mentoring and training program focuses specifically on early-career female researchers. Launched as far back as 2004, it is suitable for women who are training for an academic career at the University of Bonn or looking to shape their career planning more actively or engage in more targeted preparation for a leadership position in academia that they are seeking. MeTra has three main modules: mentoring, training and networking. Applications for the next round of the program close on March 1, 2026.
Workshops
Besides MeTra, the Gender Equality Office also runs an extensive range of workshops concentrating on three main areas: career advancement for women, self-assurance and empowerment, and gender literacy. The topics covered include conflict management, (self-) presentation skills, negotiating, dealing with impostor syndrome and fairness in appointment procedures.
The Taster Day
The Taster Day introduces schoolgirls in 10th to 13th grade to degree programs in engineering subjects and the natural sciences. The orientation day, which this year is being held for the 25th time, lets the girls find out for themselves how science works and whether they might consider a degree program in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subject. Conducting their own experiments and research gives them real-life insights into the STEM world and its career prospects.
Numerous outstanding female scientists conduct research and teach at the University of Bonn. One of them is Elena Reckzeh, Argelander Professor of Organoids and Chemical Biology. In the video, she talks about her path into science and gives advice to young women who want to follow a similar path (German only).
Interview with Jun.-Prof. Dr. Elena S. Reckzeh
Bild © Universität Bonn / YouTube