Gender equality is a permanent legal obligation of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). In this context, the university’s focus is on removing structural barriers and ensuring a gender-equitable university environment.

A large number of activities, measures, tools, and structures support the achievement of these goals.

Below is an initial overview of the measures currently offered at JGU for the promotion of women, equality, equal opportunities, and the compatibility of family and career.

This program has the overarching goal of supporting female doctoral and postdoctoral researchers working at JGU in their professional career. The university is thus pursuing a long-term strategy of significantly increasing the proportion of women in leadership positions.

The short- to medium-term goal of the mentoring program is to promote networking between female humanities and social science students (in the faculties of: Catholic and Protestant Theology; Social Sciences, Media and Sport; Law and Economics; Philosophy and Philology; Translation Studies, Linguistics and Cultural Studies; History and Cultural Studies; and in the Mainz School of Music and the Mainz Academy of Fine Arts) and to support female doctoral, post-doctoral, and habilitation candidates in expanding their professional skills and gaining access to informal structures and networks. The project also serves to provide female academics with important contacts that open up prospects for their future careers. They can familiarize themselves with the unwritten rules of the academic world.

The medium- to long-term aims are to provide targeted support to female academics to help them successfully secure a professorship or a leading position in university management or a non-university research institution and thus increase their chances of finding permanent employment. The project therefore aims to address womens’ individual starting points in order to support them on their career path.