Officer for equal opportunities for women in science and the arts
Women’s Representatives* of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology
At the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology, gender aspects are examined in research and teaching at the social and institutional level, depending on the individual disciplines. For example, the “career development of university graduates of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (BELA-E)” has been investigated with a DFG project since 1995.
Gender-specific socialization takes place in research and teaching, as well. The faculty aims at increasing the proportion of women on all qualification levels and especially in the areas where women are underrepresented. In addition, gender aspects are to be integrated in all fields of research and teaching.
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.
The UN’s Orange The World campaign has been drawing attention to violence since 1991: from the International Day to End Violence Against Women on November 25 to December 10, Human Rights Day. UN Women Germany has chosen “Stop Violence Against Women” as the theme for its Orange The World campaign this year.
The Women’s Representatives of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology would like to help spread this message at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and offer support to those affected. 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/
Area of Responsibilities
The promotion of gender equality and the realization of gender mainstreaming are central cross-sectional tasks at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (see also Equality Concept 2023-2027 for the academic sector).
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
- 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
- Support of the development and continues improving of the FAU Family Service
Women’s representatives of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology
Prof. Dr. Aida Bosch
Department Sozialwissenschaften und Philosophie
Department of Sociology
- Phone number: +49 9131 85-22386
- Email: aida.bosch@fau.de
Deputy women’s representative of the Faculty:
Dr. Katharina Gerund
Department of English and American Studies
Chair of American Studies (Prof. Dr. Paul)
- Phone number: +49 9131 85-22438
- Email: katharina.gerund@fau.de
The faculty’s women’s representatives are supported by the deputy women’s representatives of the departments and an advisor.
Anna Isenmann, M.A.
Office of Equality and Diversity
- Phone number: +49 9131 85-25509
- Email: phil-fb@fau.de
Women’s representatives of the Departments
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.
Department of Classical World and Asian Cultures
Dr. Cleophea Ferrari
Anna Schneider (M.A.)
Department of English, American, and Romance Studies
Prof. Dr. Annette Keilhauer (Akad. Oberrätin)
PD Dr. Karin Höpker
Department of Didactics
Dr. Katja Feigenspan (Akad.ORätin)
PD Dr. Christel Meier (Akad. ORat)
Department Digital Humanities and Social Studies
Department of German and Comparative Studies
PD Dr. Aura Heydenreich (Akad. ORat)
Dr. Karin Rädle
Department of History
Dr. Helen Wagner
Dr. Cornelia Scherer
Department of Islamic-Religious Studies
Dr. Eva Kepplinger
Imane El Guennouni (M.A.)
Elham Daniela Mazloum (M.A.)
Department of Media Studies and Art History
Dr. Sarah Lynch
Prof. Dr. Bettina Brandl-Risi
Department of Education
Stephanie Leupert (M.A.)
Petra Ackerlauer (M.A.)
Department of Psychology
Christine Heinisch (Ph.D.)
Isabelle May (M.A.)
Dipl.-Psych. Marlis Gerdes
Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy
Christianna Bunt (M.A.)
Joanna Katharina Kiefer (M.A.)
Katharina Nicolai (M.A.)
Department of Sport Science
Dr. Sabine Mayer
Dr. Jana Semrau
School of Theology
Ann-Sophie Markert (M.A.)
PD Dr. Sarah Schulz
Further women’s representatives of FAU
Target Agreements and Supporting Programs
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
- Funding for guest lectures by leading female scholars
- Research and publication award
- PostDoc+ Research Grant
For further information please contact: phil-fb@fau.de
Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment will not be tolerated at FAU. With the guideline for the prevention and handling of cases of discrimination, harassment and sexual harassment at the Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and the University Hospital Erlangen (UKER), which came into force on June 1, 2021, the university is taking a stand and sending a clear signal for an active approach to discrimination, harassment and sexual harassment.
For more information on contact and counseling points at FAU and on the possibility of a complaint procedure, please visit the pages of the Office of Equality and Diversity
Guest lecture: Role Models
The Office of Equality and Diversity, together with the Women’s Representative of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology supports guest lectures by high-profile female academics from Germany and abroad as a measure of the target agreements. The interdisciplinary lectures are not only rewarding from a scientific point of view, the outstanding careers of the female guest lecturers are also intended to serve as inspiration for an academic career for female students and staff.
The Women’s Representatives of the Faculty invited together with the IZGDD and the Institute of Art History anyone interested to the Role Models Guest Lecture Series in the upcoming semester. On three Mondays in the winter semester 2022/2023, distinguished female academics were guests at FAU and gave lectures on various intriguing topics.
- On 7 November, Yü-Yen Li from the Freie Universität Berlin will open the series with her lecture on “Body and Concentration in Musical Performance”.
- On 16 January, Lisa Gaupp from the “Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien” will be our guest and talk about “Politics(s) of Global Arts: Cultural Diversity in Curatorial Practice”.
- On 23 January, there will be a lecture by Shao-Lan Hertel of the Tsinghua University Art Museum on “Script:Image:Text:Body. On the Somaesthetics of Chinese Brush-and-ink Art in Theory and Practice” (Abstract in German).
- On 30 January, the lecture by Anja Zimmermann (CV in German) from the University of Oldenburg on the topics of art, feminism and theory in the spirit of the sentence “I finally had to allow myself to have completely different questions”, unfortunately was cancelled.
Further information about following lectures will be announced here soon.
Information about applying for funding can be found in the Guidelines and on the page of the Office of Equality and Diversity.
Courses with a focus on gender
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 2022, p. 15)
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.
Contact Points and Events
- 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: Christian Müller-Thomas
- Conflict Counseling Center
*To improve readability, the term “women’s representative” is used below. The title of the “Advisor to the Officers for equal opportunities for women in science and the arts” has also been shortened.