Gender Equality

IHP focuses on the creative potential of people of all genders. We offer the freedom to everyone to develop his or her potentials. That´s why we emphasize the importance of a gender-equitable working environment and a management culture based on equal opportunities. When designing our processes and structures, we are sensitive to the need to counteract discrimination.

Women are still underrepresented in technical professions and in the natural sciences. Therefore, we promote the professional development of women individually and strongly encourage them to apply for jobs. We actively support gender equality with a number of measures.

For our commitment to diversity and equal opportunities, we have been (re-)certified with the Total E-Quality (TEQ) rating since 2010, most recently in 2022.

It is a particular concern to us to inspire female pupils for technology and natural sciences and to especially address female students. This is why we are involved in events addressing gender equality, for example IHP opens its doors to pupils at the annual Future Day – an annual event for girls and boys, on which they get to know job profiles beyond stereotypical ideas.

Gender Equality Plan

In May 2022, the Gender Equality Plan of IHP was adopted, after being developed in a participatory process with the working title "Leading for Equality" in the months prior. The stated goal was a document that is supported by all key people of the institute and whose measures will be implemented with conviction in the future. Thus, the process "Leading for Equality" served not only to create the document, but also to raise awareness of gender equality and equal opportunities leadership, as well as to make gender equality visible as an important goal of the IHP.

A total of 40 key people at the IHP, who are in position to further promote equality at the IHP, have worked together on the content of the gender equality plan: the institute management, the heads of the scientific departments, of the research groups, the technical and administrative management staff, the equal opportunity officer and her deputies, the representative of the severely disabled, the chairman of the works council, a member of the scientific-technical council and the quality management officer. 

The participants of "Leading for Equality" dealt with the theoretical foundations of equality, instruments of equal-opportunity leadership in several workshops in the period from autumn 2020 to early summer 2021 and developed customized equality measures for the IHP in a group work phase, always with the advice of two external experts. The proposed measures developed in this way in the following fields of action were incorporated into the gender equality plan, together with already established and proven standards, or are included in thematically appropriate policy documents (e.g. communication strategy, personnel development concept). 

The gender equality plan is regularly reviewed and updated. 

If you have any questions, please contact the Head of Human Resources, Elise Funke.

Leading for Equality

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