TRR 375 - Gender equality

Gender equality

Equal opportunities for researchers and the compatibility of career and family are a central concern of the Collaborative Research Center. For this reason, TRR 375 offers a wide range of measures for equal opportunities and a family-friendly workplace. There are offers that are specifically aimed at women in science, as well as offers that can be used by all parents in TRR 375. All TRR 375 researchers have access to the diverse programs of the participating universities, which are coordinated and implemented by the RPTU Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Family Office and the LUH Equal Opportunities Office. We have also developed our own measures.

At the kick-off event of TRR 375, Margaretha Sinner was elected by the project leaders and doctoral researchers as Equal Opportunities Officer. She implements measures to ensure gender equality and equal opportunities in close coordination with the spokesperson. Information about the programs and events offered by RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau and Leibniz University Hannover can be found below.

Gender equality at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau
Equality, Diversity & Family Affairs Unit

Gender equality at Leibniz University Hannover
Equal Opportunities Office

Work-Life Balance

TRR 375 supports its employees in balancing their academic careers with family life and creates appropriate conditions to this end, taking individual needs into account. The goal is to provide targeted support to employees with children and to enable them to work in optimal conditions.

To ease the burden on parents, for example, student assistants are employed to help with organizational or project-related tasks. In addition, TRR 375 researchers receive financial support if they need to temporarily reduce their working hours for family reasons. The provision of home office workstations for parents with young children also helps them flexibly balance professional demands with family obligations.

TRR 375 also actively supports all employees with children in finding suitable childcare options and selecting schools. In addition, financial resources are provided for childcare so that employees can participate in training programs both within and outside of TRR 375. Particularly during labor-intensive project phases or when attending scientific conferences, additional funds for childcare - such as outside the regular opening hours of daycare centers - are made available as needed.

In addition, TRR 375 actively supports the initiatives of the RPTU and LUH, as well as their respective departments and faculties, that promote equal opportunities in academia and support researchers with young children. This support includes both initiatives that can be directly utilized by TRR 375 staff and programs for early-career researchers in the disciplines represented within TRR 375.

We also assist our employees in accessing existing family programs offered by the RPTU, the LUH, and other partner institutions.

Offers for schoolgirls and female students

To inspire female students to pursue studies in STEM fields, encourage their interest, and support them in their career paths, TRR 375 actively participates in various initiatives. We support the Girls and Technology Congress, which takes place every year at the Hannover Centre for Production Technology. To this end, we provide funding and, together with our doctoral researcher Eileen Müller, play a central role in organizing the event and conducting workshops that allow participants to engage with various topics in a playful manner. In addition, we participate in events such as Girls’ Day, the Night of Knowledge, and the Night of Mechanical Engineering.

Particularly qualified female students have the opportunity to work as student assistants on largely independent, manageable research tasks within the TRR 375 projects. If interested, the management also arranges bachelor's and master's theses in the various subject areas of TRR 375.