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the status of women in german political science

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Abstract

Women are grossly underrepresented in the German political science profession, but some progress in breaking the glass ceiling has been made in the last 20 years. This article outlines women’s entry and advancement in the German academic community. We examine the particulars of obtaining a German doctorate and the nature of how postdocs prepare for their qualifications to receive a tenured professorship. We also analyse the gendered nature of the German academic institution and measures for promoting equal opportunity. Our findings show that gender inequalities are visible in the number of women in the profession and in their rank, although some progress has been made in closing this gap. Equal opportunity measures and some changes in German academic institutions, such as in the German Political Science Association (DVPW), have benefited women. Problems remain, however, in German universities’ inability to provide postdoc level job security and (in many cases) adequate pay in the postdoc phase. More permanent lecturer positions are needed in Germany.

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Notes

  1. At present, the main discussions around equal opportunity in academia focus on women’s equality. Diversity in terms of racial identity, ethnic and religious background, sexual orientation is not statistically captured in German data on students and employees at universities, although physical impairment is a criteria for preferred hiring in cases of equivalent qualifications of candidates.

  2. Master’s programmes were introduced as part of the so-called Bologna process since 2000; in 2007 for the first time more than 100 students graduated from a master’s programme in political science in Germany.

  3. Germany has a high number of Ph.D. students because a Ph.D. is not just a ticket to furthering an academic career in Germany, but also a very important step for many professional positions in the private sector as well as in public administration. Many see the Ph.D. as an opportunity and desirable option for furthering their non-academic careers.

  4. Funding comes from the Federal Ministry for Education and Research.

  5. The normal teaching load of a full professor is 9 h per week, that is, 4–5 courses per term.

References

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Acknowledgements

We like to thank Laura Hohmann and Jeanette Suess for their most helpful background research on the statistical data.

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Correspondence to gabriele abels.

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abels, g., woods, d. the status of women in german political science. Eur Polit Sci 14, 87–95 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2015.5

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