Equal Opportunities Office
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Gender Equality Officer

Institutional Counseling & Consulting

The Gender Equality Officer advises the university management on the design and implementation of measures to promote gender equality in the context of university and personnel development. She tries to take an intersectional perspective in her work. She essentially fulfills this task

  • through regular consultations with members of the university management
  • through her participation in committees (see below under Areas of Focus - Committees)
  • through her work in the Equal Opportunities Office, which is part of the university's management.
The Gender Equality Officer advises the deaneries, institute directors, and employees of the faculties on the implementation of equality and equal opportunities in research and teaching. The officer provides support in developing and implementing measures to promote equality. Examples include gender- and diversity-sensitive appointment and recruitment procedures, committee work, and conflict resolution in gender-related matters. The goal of counseling is to reduce discrimination and promote an equitable organizational culture. Counseling is needs-oriented, confidential, and practical
The Gender Equality Officer advises managers and employees in the central administration, central institutions, and presidential and management areas on developing and implementing equal opportunity measures. The goal is to promote a gender-equitable organizational culture. This advice is tailored to specific needs, confidential, and practical.

Faculty Gender Equality Officers and advisors may contact the Gender Equality Officer at any time to discuss their duties, participation rights, or to request support. This is particularly important for the development and implementation of Gender Equality and Diversity Action Plans (GEDAPs) in faculties, as well as for addressing problems and conflicts in appointment and recruitment procedures. The Gender Equality Officer offers a continuing education program with several modules for decentralized equal opportunities officers and advisors each semester. Additionally, she invites them to meetings of Faculty Gender Equality Officers, which occur two to three times per semester.

Counseling & Consulting: Scientists and Students

Structural disadvantage refers to gender-based inequalities that do not stem from the intent of individuals, but rather from the institutional frameworks, routines, and norms that have historically developed in universities and appear to be neutral. These structures often operate unconsciously but systematically disadvantage women in their academic careers. Therefore, structural discrimination operates at the organizational level, regardless of whether individuals consciously discriminate. It manifests itself in statistical underrepresentation, the cumulative effect of minor exclusions ("leaky pipeline"), and the unequal distribution of visibility, support, and power.

The Gender Equality Officer offers confidential counseling to female scientists and students to help them counteract the mechanisms of "small exclusions", develop solutions to deal with them, and initiate changes in structures. Ulrike Schneider-Gladbach, the Deputy Gender Equality Officer, is responsible for administrative and technical staff. Annemarie Eifler is the direct point of contact for employees in cases of individual gender-based or sexualized discrimination and violence. The Anti-Discrimination Center is the point of contact for students.

The Gender Equality Officer provides advice on gender-related issues in appointment and recruitment procedures in order to ensure gender equality. The goal is to reduce structural inequalities, promote transparent and fair selection processes, and combat discrimination. All those involved in the processes—applicants, committee members, and Faculty Gender Equality Officers—can seek confidential advice (see also structural disadvantage and indirect discrimination above).

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Areas of Focus

The Gender Equality Officer brings equal opportunity and anti-discrimination perspectives to university committees. She incorporates equality issues into decision-making processes and advises on the development of strategies, guidelines, and measures. Through her involvement, she contributes to the sustainable integration of equality into all areas of the university. The most important committees are the Senate, its commissions, and working groups, where applicable.

Fundamentals of Equal Opportunity Appointment Procedures 

As a foundation university, Goethe University independently appoints its professors. The university's appointment regulations (German), the Equal Opportunities Action Plan 2025-2030, the quality criteria for equality in appointment procedures adopted by Hessian universities in 2015 with support from the Hessian Ministry of Science, and achecklist for conducting appointment procedures (German) form the basis for transparent and efficient procedures, including those related to gender equality. In 2025, Goethe University signed the German Rectors' Conference's voluntary commitment "Towards greater gender equality in appointments — a voluntary commitment by German universities" (German).  Additionally, together with the other RMU universities, Goethe University participates in CoARA – Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment ("The Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment"). CoARA is an EU initiative that aims to reform research assessment. Goethe University is working to change the criteria for evaluating scientific performance, making them more transparent and equitable.

The guide to active recruitment (German) assists those responsible for the appointment process with their desired scouting activities. This is facilitated by the mandatory documentation of potential applicants in the application process, as well as the opportunity for departments to invite scientists whose work aligns with the focus of the professorship to give a lecture or hold a small symposium before the position is advertised. Departments that fill professorships with women receive an increase in material resources of €5,000 or €10,000. 

In addition, the university's appointment regulations contain various provisions aimed at increasing the proportion of female academics in professorial positions.
For example: 

  • At least two female academics, one of whom must be a professor, must be represented on the appointment committee.
  • In faculties where the proportion of female professors is below the target, all female applicants who are formally qualified may be invited to an interview at the request of the equal opportunities officer.
  • Family leave should be evaluated positively in performance assessments.
  • The Senate appoints a Senate rapporteur from outside the field who receives all documents and attends all meetings whenever possible. 

Deans and members of appointment committees can seek advice from the Gender Equality Officer on gender- and diversity-sensitive appointment procedures; training courses on this topic can also be provided. If you are interested, please contact the Gender Equality Officer directly.

Instruments for Equitable Appointment Procedures

  • Instruments for Equitable Appointment Procedures
  •  taking into account the different needs, backgrounds, and life circumstances of applicants and committee members
  • Promoting transparency by wording the job advertisement clearly and objectively, defining selection criteria, and making decisions transparently
  • Application of structured, standardized procedures - Ensuring representativeness in the committee, among applicants, and among reviewers. 
  • Raising awareness of non-scientific exclusion mechanisms in all phases of the process (e.g., implicit bias). 
  • Consideration of flexible career paths and breaks, e.g., due to parental leave, part-time employment, or interdisciplinary or international paths.
  • Creation of an appreciative and welcoming culture that enables
Involvement of the Gender Equality Officer and the Faculty Gender Equality Officers

The Gender Equality Officer participates as an advisory member in all appointment procedures without a call for applications and in extraordinary procedures; in some cases, she also participates in regular procedures. She receives the documents for the approval and advertisement of the professorship and comments on them. She must be invited and informed like any other member of the committee. At the end of the procedure, she prepares a statement based on the specific meetings, the minutes, and the appointment report, among other things. This statement is part of the appointment file and may be legally relevant. She alone has the right of objection in all appointment procedures. The Faculty Gender Equality Officers usually participate in the regular procedures as advisory members. With the exception of the right of objection, they have the same rights and duties as the Gender Equality Officer. For newly elected Faculty Gender Equality Officers, further training in “gender- and diversity-sensitive appointment procedures" is recommended.


Further information and links can be found on the German website.

The (Faculty) Gender Equality Officer must be involved in the recruitment of scientific and administrative-technical staff. The Officer must be part of the recruitment and hiring process from an early stage. The Gender Equality Officer's approval must be obtained for applications to fill unadvertised positions. Officers must be informed at least 14 days in advance when candidates are invited to an interview. 

In the central administration, the Gender Equality Officer (for positions at E13 and above) and the Deputy Gender Equality Officer (for positions at E12 and below) are the appropriate contacts. Please send documents to the functional email address: chancengerechtigkeit@uni-frankfurt.de. In faculties and central institutions, respective Faculty Gender Equality Officers and advisors exercise these rights and duties. 

The involvement  includes: 

  • Participation in the wording of the job advertisement and its publication (selection of media)
  • Information about applications received
  • Inspection of application documents before interviews/recruitment requests
  • Invitations to interviews
  • Participation in interviews

Gender Equality Officer
Dr. Anja Wolde
Phone: +49 69 798-18100
wolde@em.uni-frankfurt.de

Deputy Gender Equality Officer (ATM)
Ulrike Schneider-Gladbach
Phone: +49 69 798-18128
schneider-gladbach@em.uni-frankfurt.de

Counseling in cases of gender-based and/or sexualized discrimination and violence →
Annemarie Eifler