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Equal Opportunities at Senckenberg


To guarantee equal opportunities of women and men is Senckenberg’s aspiration as an employer.

The basis of the equality efforts is the Implementation Agreement on Equality (AV-Glei) of the Joint Science Conference, to which Senckenberg has committed itself in an individual agreement with the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art. An gender equality plan also sets out how the under-representation of women in the relevant areas can be reduced and how the compatibility of career and family can be improved.

The goals of the gender equality policy are:

  • to achieve equality between women and men,
  • to eliminate existing gender discrimination, especially against women, and to prevent it in the future, and
  • to improve the compatibility of work and family for all employees.

Senckenberg offers a variety of measures in order to implement these goals.

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Mentoring programmes

Senckenberg encourages female scientists in particular to take part in mentoring programmes – to reflect on their own ideas in exchange with others, to strategically plan their next career steps and to network. In Hessen, Senckenberg cooperates with the universities and offers programmes for different career stages through Mentoring Hessen: ProCareer.Doc, ProAcademia and ProProfessur. As a member of the Leibniz Association, Senckenberg takes part in the Germany-wide Leibniz Mentoring Leadership Training for Women Scientists.

Women in leadership positions

Senckenberg aims to increase the proportion of women at all scientific career levels. To this end, target quotas have been drawn up using a cascade model in accordance with the DFG’s “Research-oriented Equality Standards”, and concrete measures have been developed as part of an gender equality plan.

Active recruitment

It is not always enough to publish a job advertisement: active recruitment includes systematic research and personal contact with suitable female candidates. Senckenberg engages in active recruitment in order to attract women in particular to leadership positions in science and research.

Dual Career

In order to enable so-called dual career couples to change location together, partners of top scientists are supported in developing a professional perspective in the same region. Senckenberg is a member of Dual Career Networks in the Rhine-Main region and in central Germany.

Compatibility of career and family

Senckenberg supports its employees with targeted measures to reconcile work and family responsibilities and is continuously developing its family- and life phase-conscious personnel policy with the audit berufundfamilie (see Job and Family). Senckenberg has been certified by the “audit berufundfamilie” since 2012.

Against discrimination

Senckenberg wants to counteract discrimination based on gender, especially of women, and stands up for employees who feel unfairly treated or sexually harassed. The Equal Opportunities Officer and her deputy, the members of the works councils, the AGG Complaints Office in accordance with the General Equal Treatment Act and conflict mediators are available as contact persons for this purpose.

The Equal Opportunities Officers

The practical implementation of equal treatment and the promotion of equal opportunities for women and men are supported by an elected Equal Opportunities Officer and her deputy. They accompany all personnel, organisational as well as social measures from the very beginning, advise employees on issues of equal opportunities and work-life balance and support Senckenberg in complying with the “Research-oriented Equality Standards” adopted by the DFG members as well as the recommendations on equality in the Leibniz Institutes.

If you have any questions about equal opportunities at Senckenberg, please contact the equal opportunities officers.

mitarbeiter dörte florack
Dörte Florack
Equal Opportunities Officer
Mitarbeiterin Jana Bingemer Görlitz
Jana Bingemer
Deputy Equal Opportunities Officer