Gender Equality Plan 2023

Gender Equality Plan of the School of Business Administration and Economics

1. preamble
According to Art. 3 para. 2 sentence 2 of the Basic Law, the state promotes the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and works towards the elimination of existing disadvantages. In order to achieve these goals, the Lower Saxony Equal Rights Act (NGG) in the version of December 9, 2010 contains general requirements for the public sector, which also apply to Osnabrück University as a university under state responsibility.
The coalition agreement between the SPD and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen from 2022 provides for a new law to be introduced in which the framework conditions for the realization of equal rights are improved. A motion for a resolution by the coalition to amend the Lower Saxony Equal Rights Act (NGG) was discussed and passed in the state parliament on 22.03.2023.
In addition, Section 3 (3) of the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act (NHG) in the version dated February 26, 2007, last amended by Article 1 of this Act dated December 15, 2015, enshrines the gender equality mandate, according to which the universities are to promote the actual implementation of equal opportunities for women and men in the performance of their duties, work towards the elimination of existing disadvantages and contribute to women's and gender research.
In addition to the legal requirements, Osnabrück University, as a member of the German Research Foundation (DFG), has expressly committed itself to the introduction of the "Research-oriented equality standards" - which were expanded in July 2022 to include the aspect of diversity - and their implementation on the basis of self-imposed targets for increasing the proportion of women at the academic qualification levels. In addition, Osnabrück University has submitted a binding gender equality concept as part of its application to the federal and state government's Women Professors Program I, II and III, which is based, among other things, on the gender equality plans of the university's eight schools.
With this plan for gender equality, the School of Business Administration and Economics has set itself the long-term goal of reducing structural disadvantages and the increasing underrepresentation of women with increasing academic qualifications and actively promoting equality between men and women in accordance with §§ 3 para. 1 no. 7 and 3 para. 3 NHG.
The implementation of the Gender Equality Plan is the task of all members and members of the School of Business Administration and Economics, women and men alike. The Dean's Office is responsible for the implementation of the Gender Equality Plan and involves the Gender Equality Officers as experts.
This Equal Opportunities Plan is based on a detailed inventory, taking into account the university qualification levels. It also sets out long-term goals and short-term measures to ensure gender equality. In particular, it takes another look at the measures set out in the school's gender equality plan from 2020 to 2022 and critically analyzes the targets formulated therein. This Gender Equality Plan covers the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025.
2. Gender equality work at the School of Business Administration and Economics
The School of Business Administration and Economics is committed to creating structural equality of opportunity and fulfilling the state's gender equality mandate. The decision-makers at the school work together with the decentralized Equal Opportunities Officer as experts to implement this mandate.
According to § 42 para. 5 in conjunction with § 12 para. 5 of the constitution of Osnabrück University, the decentralized Equal Opportunities Officer(s) has/have the task of participating in the fulfillment of the equal opportunities mandate of the university or the school. This involvement extends to development planning, the preparation of the equality plan as well as structural and personnel decisions. It follows from this mandate that, in accordance with the regulations of the NHG in conjunction with the regulations of Osnabrück University (e.g. constitution, procedural regulations for the appointment of professorships and junior professorships in the schools, regulations for the appointment and revocation of honorary professors), the respective decision-makers of the school must be involved in the following procedures in a timely and comprehensive manner:
a) upcoming personnel measures, in particular advertisements and waivers of advertisements, hiring, extensions and increases,
b) appointment procedures for the appointment of professorships and junior professorships as well as the awarding of honorary professorships.
3. implementation of the equality plan
The Dean's Office and the decentralized Equal Opportunities Officer(s) ensure that the equality plan is implemented in all its parts in accordance with the responsibilities set out herein.
The implementation of the equality plan is reported on regularly (equality report). The gender equality report is presented in writing and orally to the school executive board by the dean and with the participation of the decentralized gender equality officers. The dean's office reports to the school executive board once a semester on the implementation of the measures anchored in the gender equality plan with the participation of the decentralized gender equality officers.

4. stocktaking: students, completed examinations and employees at the School of Business Administration and Economics

I. Students
In the group of students, the overall proportion of women is around 30 percent. A look at the individual degree programs reveals a different picture: In the Master's programs, the overall proportion of women is higher than the percentage of all students in the School of Business Administration and Economics, in the Single-Subject Bachelor's programs it is lower, in the Dual-Subject Bachelor it is slightly higher.
A breakdown of the individual degree programs shows that the proportion of women on both the Bachelor's and Master's degree programs in Information Systems is only around 15 percent. Of particular note is the above-average proportion of women on the Master's degree course in Economics, which is just under half.
1 Student case: Number of all enrolled students of all desired degrees in all chosen subjects (excluding students on leave of absence), source: MIS, student data as at the reporting date (as at 15.11. or 15.05. of each year)
2 Academic year 2022/2023
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II. Completed examinations
total
male
female
W percentage
Completed examinations FB093
924
603
321
34.74%
of which Bachelor
536
343
193
36.01%
of which B.Sc. Business Administration and Economics
428
257
171
39.95%
of which B.Sc. Information Systems
68
59
9
13.24%
of which dual-subject Bachelor
40
27
13
32.50%
of which Master
348
233
115
33.05%
of which Master Business Administration
255
168
87
34.12%
of which Master Economics
45
31
14
31,11%
of which Master's in Information Systems
48
34
14
29.17%
Doctorates4
33
24
9
27.27%
Habilitations5
1
1
0
0.00%
Women account for a total of 35% of graduates in the academic years 2020 to 2022.
In the individual degree programs, the proportion of women in Bachelor's degree programs is around 36% overall, with just under 40% in the Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Economics and only 13% in the Bachelor's degree in Information Systems. In the Dual-Subject Bachelor, the proportion of women is around one third.
In the Master's degree courses, more than 33 percent of degrees are awarded to women, with the proportion in "Business Administration" just above this figure, in "Economics" 2 percentage points below this figure and in "Information Systems" around 4 percentage points below this figure.
The proportion of female first-year students in the 2022/2023 academic year is approximately 30%, which represents a decrease of 6 percentage points compared to the 2018/2019 academic year. The proportion of degrees awarded to female students is around 34.74% and has hardly changed compared to the previous reporting period (34.36%). Apparently, female students are studying more successfully than their male counterparts.
Due to the small number of cases and for the sake of comparability with the graduation figures, reference is made to the entire reporting period of the academic years 2020 to 2022 for doctorates. The average proportion of women in these years is 27.27%. The proportion of female doctoral graduates is significantly lower than the proportion of female graduates. Only one habilitation procedure was completed in the reporting period.
3 Own survey for the academic years 2020 to 2022, as of December 15 of each year
4 Academic years 2020 to 2022; as of December 15 of each year; source: Management Information System (MIS)
5 Academic years 2020 to 2022; source: internal university survey 5 Internal university survey
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III. Employees
Employees6
total
male
female7
W percentage
Academic staff
(excluding assistants)
71
50
21
29.58%
of which (junior) professors
17
13
4
23.53%
of which mid-level staff
54
37
17
31,48%
of which permanent
2
1
1
50.00%
full-time
2
1
1
50.00%
part-time
0
0
0
0.00%
of which temporary
52
36
16
30,77%
Full-time
45
30
15
33.33%
Part-time
7
6
1
14.29%
Support staff
96
57
39
40.63%
Research assistants8
1
1
0
0,00%
Student assistants9
95
56
39
41.05%
Non-scientific staff
23
2
21
91.30%
of which permanent
21
2
19
90.48%
Full-time
9
2
7
77.78%
Part-time
12
0
12
100.00%
of which temporary
2
0
2
100,00%
Full-time
0
0
0
0.00%
Part-time
2
0
2
100.00%
The proportion of female academic staff is 29.58 percent - around two percentage points less than in the previous reporting period. Out of 17 professorships, four are now held by women, which is 23.53% instead of 17.65% compared to the previous gender equality plan.
The proportion of women among academic staff is 31.48%, which is slightly below the proportion of women among graduates (34.74%).
At 40.63%, the proportion of women among auxiliary staff is significantly higher than that of students (29.72%).
6 Here: Employees of all funding - professors including junior professors and administrators/representatives, reporting date 31.12.2022; source: Evaluation Administrative Service 2
7 General note: The gender options "diverse" and "unknown" are not specified for data protection reasons.
8 Assistant with a first degree
9 Assistant without a degree
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Around 91 percent of employees in the non-scientific area are female. Men are still strongly underrepresented.
5 Comparison with the last Gender Equality Plan10
I. Comparison of data
There are currently11 a total of 13,596 students enrolled at Osnabrück University, 59.4 percent of whom are female. The proportion of female graduates is 66.3 percent (as at: 15.12.2022), the proportion of female doctoral candidates in the 2022 academic year (as at: 15.12.2022) was 42.3 percent.
At the School of Business Administration and Economics, the proportion of female students fell from 34.21% to 29.72%.
With regard to graduates, the proportion of women has remained relatively constant (34.74% to 34.36%).
In the area of completed doctorates, the proportion of women has declined again slightly over the years 2004 to 2008 (approx. 25%), the years 2009 to 2012 (approx. 33%), the years 2013 to 2015 (approx. 17%) and the years 2017 to 2019 (approx. 31%) to 27.27%.
The proportion of female academic staff (31.48%) is slightly higher than the proportion of female students (29.72%) and slightly lower than the proportion of female graduates (34.74%).
As of 01.01.2023, there are four female professors at the school. The proportion of women increased by almost 6 percentage points compared to the last gender equality plan and currently stands at 23.53% (compared to 17.65%). It is particularly positive to note here that the school succeeded in recruiting a female professor as part of an advertisement for a junior professorship in Information Systems.
Overall, the proportion of female employees in the academic field has fallen slightly (29.25% to 31.34%).
The overall proportion of female assistants is 40.63%, which is significantly higher than the proportion of female students. Compared to the previous reporting period, it has risen by around 3 percentage points from 37.88%.
Men are still strongly underrepresented among non-scientific staff (proportion of women: 91.3%).
II Achieving the goals set
1. Long-term goals
Women continue to be underrepresented in the area of academic staff and professorships. Although the goal of reducing the increasing underrepresentation of women with increasing academic qualifications was not achieved, the proportion is still around 30 percent. Among professors in particular, the proportion has increased by a further 6 percentage points.
10 The last gender equality plan covers the period from 2017 to 2020
11 ZBW, as at 15.11.2022, source MIS
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More female student assistants were also recruited, which has the potential to attract new female academic staff.
2. short-term and medium-term goals
In the area of tutors and student assistants, the proportion of women is currently around 40 percent and has increased compared to the previous plan, which means that the goal of maintaining this status has been achieved.
In the medium term, the aim was to increase the proportion of female academic staff to 35%. At 31.48%, this target was narrowly missed - but is higher than the proportion of female students.
In the area of Doctorates, the goal was set to achieve a significant increase in the proportion of women, which should at least correspond to the proportion of women among academic staff at the time of the report (36%). This target was clearly missed with a share of 27.27%. In the coming years, due to a proportion of 31.48 percent female doctoral candidates, a proportion of women of over 30 percent of doctorates can be expected.
6. goals
The School of Business Administration and Economics continues to set itself the goal of reducing the increasing underrepresentation of women as academic qualifications increase. Proven measures are to be continued and new needs identified, from which further measures can be derived.
I. Studies, tutors and student assistants
In the area of tutors and student assistants, the proportion of women is currently over 40 percent and significantly higher than the proportion of women among students. The school aims to maintain this situation and increase the proportion of female students.
The situation is similar for female graduates. The aim here is to maintain the proportion of around 35 percent.
Looking at the different degree programs at the school, the following picture emerges: In the Bachelor's degree course in Business Administration and Economics, the proportion of female students is slightly above the average of just under 30 percent, and in the Master's degree course in Economics it is almost half. In Information Systems, on the other hand, the proportions are much lower: 15 percent in the Bachelor's program and 14 percent in the Master's program. The school is aiming to increase the proportion of women in Information Systems in particular over the coming years.
II. Academic qualification phase
In the area of academic staff, the proportion of women is currently one third, which currently corresponds to the proportion of women among students. This situation should also be maintained.
Similarly, the school aims to increase the proportion of women in the areas of Doctorates, junior professorships and habilitations. Currently, around a third (28.7 percent) of the 73 doctoral students are female and two of the three habilitation candidates are women, so achieving this goal seems realistic.
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The increased female presence in teaching (four professorships plus a permanent academic position in statistics) could have a positive effect on female students' interest in an academic career.
III. professors/junior professors
If professorships are to be filled by the end of this equality plan, the school will set itself the goal - in the given case and with equal qualifications - of giving more consideration to women.
IV. Non-scientific area
The school encourages suitable male applicants to fill non-scientific positions. A target cannot be quantified.
7. list of measures
I. Studies
The professors and the decentralized Equal Opportunities Officer inform female students about special support programs at the university and support them in their participation.
To promote self-presentation, a rhetoric workshop for female students with gender aspects should be offered in cooperation with the Equal Opportunities Office or the Continuing Education and Training team. Corresponding needs should be reported by the student council.
Professors are asked to regularly inform suitable female students about possible activities in their department.
II. Academic qualification phase
The professors and the decentralized Equal Opportunities Officer inform female doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers about the university's funding programs and support them in participating.
If interested, the decentralized Equal Opportunities Officer offers a regulars' table for female doctoral candidates for the purpose of exchange and networking.
Regular reference is made to offers for further and advanced training, such as career workshops and career advice from the ZePrO or the Equal Opportunities Office, or courses to promote self-presentation for female academic staff.
III. Non-scientific area
The school supports the further qualification of employees in the non-scientific area through time off for internal further training opportunities offered by the university.
IV Structural and personnel measures
The school's homepage refers to the topics of equality and family-friendly university.
The school supports measures to reconcile family and career or studies, such as the possibility of teleworking/mobile working or bringing children with you if suitable care is temporarily unavailable.
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In cooperation with the Equal Opportunities Office and, if necessary, other schools, a workshop on the topic of "Family-friendly school audit" will be offered during the reporting period if required. This workshop is aimed at all students and employees with children at the school.
Upon recruitment, all employees receive information from the Dean's Office about the structures of the University/School of Business Administration and Economics. This information also refers to the services offered by the Family Office on reconciling family, career and care (family-friendly university).
The Dean's Office approaches employees with children or relatives in need of care (if known) at an early stage and discusses the specific need for support with them individually. In particular, the extent to which more flexible working hours can be made possible is discussed.
V. Recurring measures
The decentralized Equal Opportunities Officer regularly draws attention to events organized by the central Equal Opportunities Office. The media e-mail, newsletter and HTW-Infoscreen are used for this purpose.
To increase the number of female students, the school participates in events such as the Niedersachsen Technikum and the Future Day. As part of the Niedersachsen Technikum, the subject "Information Systems" presents itself in order to break down barriers and thus inspire female students to study for a Bachelor's degree.
The school has been using study ambassadors for some time now. When selecting them, care is taken to ensure that at least one position is filled by a female student. The student ambassadors provide insights into their schools' degree programs on the school's social media pages and also regularly present them at various events in schools.
Suitable female exam candidates should be specifically approached (already in the Bachelor's phase) about the possibility of doing a Doctorate and working in the department. Professors are asked to keep an eye out for suitable female candidates in their environment.
Suitable women with a doctorate should be specifically made aware of the possibility of a habilitation at the school and encouraged to pursue an academic career.
When awarding professorships and teaching assignments, women with equal qualifications should be given priority in order to actively support them in their teaching experience.
When planning courses, attention is paid to the compatibility of course times with lecturers' family interests.
8. resolution and entry into force
The draft equality plan of the School of Business Administration and Economics was presented to the school executive board for discussion at the meeting on November 8, 2023 and was unanimously approved. It comes into force retroactively from 1 January 2023 and is valid until 31 December 2025.
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9. Checklist of stakeholders
School executive board
Creation, updating, data collection
School executive board
Resolution
Decentralized Equal Opportunities Officer
Participation
Central Equal Opportunities Officer
Advice
Central Commission for Gender Equality (ZKfG)
Advice and discussion
Centralized Reporting (ZBW)
Data collection