More women in positions of leadership: Careers programme of TU Graz takes effect

If, before the beginning of the “Leading Women – Shaping the future” project, only eight per cent of women academics were in leading positions of university management, the share of women in university management has tripled at the end of the three-year project. A visibly pleased Rector Harald Kainz: “With this programme we were able to bring out the main points in the careers development of some of our best women academics and point them to leading positions in university management. This success proves us right: whether in faculties, in the management of our Fields of Expertise or in the Senate: the proportion of women has increased everywhere.”

Programme diversity for eight leading women

The diverse programme of career development came to an end today at TU Graz with a star-studded closing event. Besides the eight “Leading Women” of TU Graz, their mentors from science, academia and industry including representatives of the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy (BMWFW) and of the Chancellor’s Office, and also of the state of Styria also took part. The participants in the TU Graz “Leading Women” programme were Gabriele Berg, Juliane Bogner-Strauss, Katrin Ellermann, Mihyun Kang, Stefanie Lindstaedt, Annette Mütze, Maria Cecilia Poletti and Tanja Wrodnigg. Among the mentors were a number of outstanding leading personalities from, among others, AVL List GmbH, Infineon Technologies AG, Magna Steyr AG & Co KG, Vienna University of Technology, and the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy.

Key objective: equal opportunity

In the vision and key objectives of TU Graz, the following is written: TU Graz strives to be a university with high diversity and equal opportunity. The aim of the Leading Women programme was to strengthen the positions of the participants and to initiate a change in culture at TU Graz regarding equal opportunity and diversity and to establish it firmly in the long-term. “By means of TU Graz’s Leading Women project, this goal is now a big step closer,” says Vice Rector Claudia von der Linden  with conviction, and explains further:  “The Leading Women project has not only shown a successful, significant increase of women in positions of leadership, but also supports the ‘we feeling’ which sustainably strengthens the bond of ‘best minds’ at TU Graz.”