Women’s representatives

Welcome to the website of the Women’s Representatives of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology!

At the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology, the proportion of women decreases with increasing qualification level. While the proportion of female students is 70 percent, the proportion of female professors is just over a third (FAU – Planning, Management Information Systems, Statistics Department; 01.12.2021).

The women’s representatives are continuously working on increasing the proportion of women particularly in these departments and those qualification levels in which women are underrepresented. Further information about the range of task of the women’s representatives, the funding opportunities for female scholars and contact persons could find below.

Awareness Toolkit at FAU

Awareness work aims to ensure that all students and employees feel safe and valued at FAU, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, origin, appearance and abilities. Thus, Equal opportunities and diversity are actively promoted.

The promotion of gender equality and the realization of gender mainstreaming are central cross-sectional tasks at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (see also Gender Equality Plan 2023-2027 for academia and research).

The tasks, rights, and duties of the Women’s Representatives are anchored in the Bavarian University-Innovation Law (BayHIG, see Art. 22). FAU’s basic regulations complement the BayHIG and assign the Women’s Representatives a central and formally secured role in monitoring and implementing equal opportunity practices in the university’s bodies and committees (see § 21 and § 22).

The specific tasks of the women’s representatives include:

Quality assurance in appointment procedures and audit the candidate’s equality and diversity competences
Voting right in department councils
Monitoring headhunting of suitable female candidates for professorships
Enforcement of target agreements for gender equality
Consulting regarding career and problems
Consulting concerning matters of sexual harassment
Consultation of new female professors
Establishing gender specific courses and research projects
Establishing and Controlling of Mentor Programs for young female scientists
Participation in efforts to create a family-friendly university

Dr. Cleophea Ferrari

Women’s representative of the faculty

Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology

Phone number: +49 9131 85-23462
Email: cleophea.ferrari@fau.de

The faculty’s women’s representative is supported by the deputy women’s representatives of the departments and an advisor.

Anna Isenmann, M.A.

Advisor to the women's representatives of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology

Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology

Phone number: +49 9131 85-25509
Email: phil-fb@fau.de

The women’s representatives are working towards the equality of women and men. They are contact persons for women scientists, female teachers and students of the Faculty and are committed to their concerns. The aim is to increase the proportion of women at all levels of science.

Further women’s representatives of FAU

The fourth target agreements 2023-2027 were passed on September 31, 2022 by FAU’s management.

The target agreements of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology set the following goals:

to increase the proportion of women with W2 and W3 professorships from currently 36% (as of 12/2020) to 40% in 2027,
increase the proportion of women in permanent positions at grade 15 from currently 28% (as of 1/2022) to at least 39%, which means that, out of the five positions to be filled until 2027, at least three will be filled by women.
to improve the development opportunities for female researchers and lecturers with the goal of a professorship by advancing adequate measures,
to prevent the dropout of qualified women among the non-tenured-faculty and especially in the post-doc phase through supportive measures,
to support the advancement f women, especially in the post-doc phase, with the aim to increase the proportion of female professors,
in addition to research performance and innovation, to support a culture of watching and listening to each other, and to promote an appreciative and respectful working and research climate, which is gender and diversity sensitive and based on respect for the dignity of every individual.

Currently, the following funding opportunities are available for female scholars at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, an Theology:

ARIADNEPhil Mentoring-Program
Coaching for young female scientists for individual career and career planning
Scholarship program for the “Realization of Equal Opportunities for Women in Research and Teaching” (FFL)
Conference funding for active participation in academic conferences (Please note our new information sheet.)
Research and publication award
PostDoc+ Research Grant

For further information please contact: phil-fb@fau.de

The Office of Equality and Diversity, together with the Women’s Representative of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology supported guest lectures by high-profile female academics from Germany and abroad as a measure of the target agreements. The interdisciplinary lectures were not only rewarding from a scientific point of view, the outstanding careers of the female guest lecturers were also intended to serve as inspiration for an academic career for female students and staff.

Please note: The Role Model funding program discontinued in January 2025.

The PostDoc+ Research Grant is an innovative career program for female scholars at postdoctoral level and above.

It offers you the opportunity to strengthen your academic independence and visibility and advance your career:

During the funding period, you submit an application to an external sponsor for a third-party funded project of your own choice and on a topic relevant to your field of research.
The funding covers pay for a substitute lecturer to take over your teaching and administrative tasks for 6 months (max. 100 % position at pay grade TV-L E13) so that you may focus on your research and the grant application.
It also includes individual career coaching (up to € 2,000). You set the agenda in consultation with the coach for 6 sessions (90 minutes each).
You can apply for material and travel expenses (up to € 1,000).
You have access to the Graduate Center’s ProFund program and benefit from the advice and support of the Office for Research and Early-Career Researchers throughout the entire process of preparing and submitting your application for third-party funding.

The application deadline has expired.

Universities are also places where sexual harassment and discrimination occur. This issue is still a taboo in this context because the general image of Universities cast them as innovative organizations that can act as role models.

Therefore, FAU’s Office of Equality and Diversity launched the #FAUrespect_Campaign against sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse of power to provide information, to raise awareness and to make it clear that FAU promotes a zero tolerance stance against harassment and discrimination in any form.

The women’s representatives of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology as well as Harriet Ziegler (harriet.ziegler@fau.de) from the office of Equality and Diversity offer confidential advice and support to anyone who has experienced or observed discrimination or (sexual) harassment.

For more info on the topic and FAU’s policy on preventing and dealing with cases of discrimination, harassment and sexual harassment, please visit: https://www.gender-und-diversity.fau.de/english/sexual-harrassment/

Gender and diversity research are cross-sectional topics in every academic subject culture; their consideration and integration into teaching is considered a quality feature and is explicitly recommended by the German Research Foundation. (DFG 2024)

In order to promote a gender- and diversity-sensitive teaching and learning culture at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology, the departments are requested to offer courses that cover gender-specific topics as part of the target agreements 2023-2027, which aim at increasing the proportion of women in academia.

In the cross-faculty overview, provided by the IZGDD, you will find the gender-related course offer.

The Office of Equality and Diversity supports the work of the women’s representatives at FAU
Interdisziplinäres Zentrum Gender Differenz Diversität (IZGDD)
The Family Service coordinates various offers of assistance for students, staff and their family members at Friedrich-Alexander-University and the university hospital
Equal opportunities officer for non-academic staff: Prof. Dr. Bärbel Kappes
Conflict Counseling Center

Note: To improve readability, the title of the “Officer for equal opportunities for women in science and the arts” has been shortened in the term “women’s representative” which is used above.

Women’s representatives

Area of Responsibilities