The university’s new chief gender equality officer and recently appointed departmental gender equality officers were welcomed into office during a reception in May. Dr. Corinna Tomberger succeeds Dr. Mechthild Koreuber, who occupied the position for twenty-four years. University president Professor Günter M. Ziegler welcomed the new gender equality officers.

“Ideally, we wouldn’t be standing here and celebrating your appointment. After all, in an ideal world there would be no need for your position because gender equity would be taken for granted,” said Professor Ziegler, who opened the official appointment ceremony of the new chief gender equality officer in the Henry Ford Building on May 15, 2023. Dr. Tomberger assumed the post on April 16. The art and media studies scholar had worked as one of former chief gender equality officer Dr. Mechthild Koreuber’s two deputies since April 2022. Dr. Tomberger originally joined the gender equality team at Freie Universität Berlin in 2016 as a staff consultant. Prior to this, she had taught gender studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin following the completion of her doctoral studies at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg.

In a speech, Dr. Tomberger emphasized the value of working together, saying that she is looking forward to collaborating with others interested in promoting gender equity to work against the disadvantages faced by women and advance compliance with the legal obligations concerning equal opportunities. One of her primary objectives is a funding program for early-career female researchers “with a special focus on those whose academic careers were negatively affected as a result of having to commit additional time to care responsibilities during the Covid-19 pandemic.” Dr. Tomberger also emphasized the importance of the work carried out by the departmental gender equality officers in their organizational units: “They are usually the first points of contact and the foundation for successful gender equity.” They are able to gain important additional skills through the FUTURA program, which teaches them the professional skills required for promoting gender equity at work. In the future, Dr. Tomberger is also interested in improving working conditions for the departmental gender equality officers. For example, in accordance with the revised Berlin Higher Education Act (Berliner Hochschulgesetz), the deputies of departmental gender equality officers should also be exempted from their other duties in order to dedicate more time to their role. This revision of the law aims to ensure that existing resources for promoting gender equity can be expanded where required.

President of Freie Universität Berlin Professor Günter M. Ziegler emphasized that advocating for gender equity is not the same as simply “doing women a favor.” Rather, “The advancement of women is synonymous with the advancement of Freie Universität as a whole.” After all, it is in the best interests of society when all genders are treated equally. “Many continue to labor under the delusion that identifying as male entitles you to a certain level of dominance. However, as anyone who takes a moment to think and reflect about it should know, a society works best when it encourages and fulfills the potential of every single one of its members,” he said. This is the aim that the gender equality officers are working toward, for example, through their role in appointment procedures or projects such as the MINToring program encouraging female participation in STEM subjects (in German).

“If we are to ensure equal opportunities for all, we must encourage the development of a respectful organizational culture, one that promotes gender equity and combats discrimination,” said Dr. Tomberger. Among the campaigns that have already been launched against sexualized harassment, discrimination, and violence is the “Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,” which aims to raise more awareness of these issues at a university level. Those affected by sexualized discrimination are encouraged to make use of the various services and support resources provided by the Chief Gender Equality Office and other specialists. The newly appointed gender equality officer is advocating for the development of a sustainable, professional advisory structure for individuals affected by discrimination, including a central point of contact for preventative, educational, and advisory services on the subject of sexualized harassment, discrimination, and violence.

Dr. Tomberger also made clear the importance of monitoring statistics on diversity and gender, i.e., collecting and evaluating differentiated, gender-specific data. “This is the only way that we can answer questions such as ‘How are we doing as a university?’” For example, the rise in the proportion of female professors compared to male professors at Freie Universität is striking; from just ten percent in 1999 to today’s figure of forty percent. “However, does this figure also apply to tenured professorships?” The “gender publication gap” and the “gender pay gap” – i.e., how the number of publications and wage levels differ between men and women – must also be taken into consideration. With a view to the range of challenges to be addressed during her six-year term in office, Dr. Tomberger finished her speech by wishing her team and all advocates for gender equity at Freie Universität “courage, the desire to bring about change, and many good ideas.”

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The original German version of this article appeared in campus.leben, the online magazine published by Freie Universität Berlin.