Three women from TRR 318 discuss gender equality and equal opportunities in science. Professor Katharina Rohlfing shares her experiences in a leadership position. Professor Hanna Drimalla encourages future female scientists to pursue their careers actively. And Ronja Hannebohm explains the project's internal measures to promote gender equality comprehensively. Three insights into the challenges and successes of women in science.
Katharina Rohlfing, you have been a professor of psycholinguistics at Paderborn University since 2015 and the spokesperson of TRR 318 since 2021. Do you feel that the environment for women in science has changed in recent years?
Katharina Rohlfing: In my opinion, the environment for women in science has not changed significantly. Admittedly, there are great opportunities to support women in their early careers and more childcare services organized by the university, for example, during school breaks. However, these do not change the fact that academic work requires high productivity and a lot of time. In addition, the administrative work in the university context is increasing, and the associated expectations of women regarding reliability and responsibility are particularly high. This has led to an additional burden in recent years.
Where is there still room for improvement?
Katharina Rohlfing: There is certainly room for improvement when it comes to women in leadership positions. I suspect this has to do with the fact that women are particularly reliable and committed to their work. When combined with a high level of awareness of one's limitations, certain positions are no longer an option. I think that staff support, especially in administrative areas, could significantly help here.
What would you say to young women and girls considering a career in science?
Katharina Rohlfing: Women ask different research questions than men. In many areas, these are innovative questions that we urgently need to find innovative solutions. That's why we need young women and girls who are enthusiastic about research and can network across disciplines. In the scientific profession, you can not only develop the scientific field but also yourself.
Hanna Drimalla, you are a professor of computer science at the Faculty of Technology at Bielefeld University. How important have networks and mentoring been for your career?
Hanna Drimalla: I think it is nonsense to network in a forced way, but it is important to exchange ideas with many people and maintain contact with both young and experienced scientists with whom one enjoys the exchange. Such exchanges have also been very important and enriching for me. I am happy when I can inspire students, mentees, or employees for my teaching or research field, for computer science, or for a career in science.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in science, particularly in computer science, and how have you overcome them?
Hanna Drimalla: In contrast to many others, I was fortunate to be able to follow a relatively predictable academic path early on through a junior professorship and then a W2 professorship. This also made it easier to balance career and family. However, I am still aware that many processes and traditions in academia date back to a time when most people with professorships were men who had a wife at home to take care of everything. Another problem I've had to deal with is that most people don't think of a young woman when they hear "computer science professor." Having your own postdoc mistaken for the boss may be funny at first, but it also means that you are not always trusted with your knowledge or skills. This sometimes forces you to emphasize your own position or skills more than you might otherwise.
What changes would you like to see for women in computer science in the coming years?
Hanna Drimalla: I would like to see the science system as a whole become more flexible for people who want to take on care tasks in our society or who have to do so for economic reasons, for example. I would also like computer science to be perceived more strongly again as a science in which women (e.g., Ada Lovelace or Grace Hopper) made significant contributions very early on.
Ronja Hannebohm, like the other Collaborative Research Centers and Transregios, TRR 318 is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). As managing director of the TRR, you are responsible for all financial matters. Does the DFG also invest in gender equality?
Ronja Hannebohm: Equal opportunities and diversity are important goals of the DFG for research networks. Each Collaborative Research Center/Transregio can apply for up to 30,000 euros annually to promote equal opportunities. While most SFB/TRR funds can be used flexibly to conduct the best possible research in the given situation, the funds for equal opportunities are tied to their intended use: They can only be used to promote equal opportunities. At the DFG, equal opportunities mean promoting women in science, improving the compatibility of family and career, and raising awareness of diversity categories such as gender, ethnic background, and social origin.
What are the funds for equal opportunities in TRR 318 used for?
Ronja Hannebohm: In particular, TRR 318 aims to promote women in science and improve family and career compatibility. Women are supported in every status group and at every qualification stage through targeted training and resources - from student assistants to professors. To improve the compatibility of family and career, TRR 318 finances, among other things, additional assistant hours and appropriate home office equipment for academics who have to care for family members at home. However, equal opportunity is not usually a one-size-fits-all issue, so equal opportunity funds are often used for very specific needs on a case-by-case basis.
Regarding equal opportunities, what else would you like to see for TRR 318 or for research networks in general?
Ronja Hannebohm: I think we have a good strategy within TRR 318 regarding the use of funds for equal opportunities, but unfortunately, we and other research networks often lack the right basis: if the gender ratio is clearly in favor of male scientists and female scientists are only a small minority, the measures for equal opportunities, unfortunately, reach far fewer people than would be desirable. In TRR 318, the situation is still relatively balanced, with an average of about 55% male and 45% female scientists, but the ratio could be more balanced, especially at the PhD level. In other research networks, especially those predominately in natural sciences and technical research, the statistics are often even more imbalanced. Social and systemic changes are needed to make a difference in the long term and to bring more women into science. International Women's Day is certainly a good way to ensure greater visibility and drive the debate forward.
International Women's Day is celebrated annually on March 8. It is rooted in the initiative of socialist organizations before World War I, which fought for equal rights and the right to vote for women. In addition, the International Day for Women and Girls in Science on February 11 draws attention to unequal access to education and scientific careers.
