Greifswald's mentoring program: Women conquer science!

Greifswald's mentoring program: Women conquer science!

On June 12, 2025, the University of Greifswald sent a strong signal for the support of young female scientists with the final event of the “CareerWegeMentoring” mentoring program. For 14 years, this program has specifically supported women on their path to leadership positions. This year, 25 postdocs and junior professors, 29 doctoral students, 60 graduates and 9 doctors are benefiting from this unique initiative. The aim is to increase the visibility of female role models and counteract structural disadvantages in the science system, as NDR reports.

The program has supported over 400 women in recent years and is recognized both statewide and nationally. The clear support of the state government, which has secured a grant of 685,000 euros for the period from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028, underlines the explosiveness and necessity of such initiatives. Minister Jacqueline Bernhardt praised the project and emphasized the importance of supporting young women in science at the final event, especially in the fight against hostility and anti-feminism.

Equality in science

But what is behind these measures? Supporting structural equality measures in science is the declared goal of many programs that are promoted through coaching, workshops and networks. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) initiates numerous campaigns, including the female professor program, which offers universities incentives to implement measures that promote equality. Universities can apply for up to four positions for female professorships in order to consistently focus on the perspective of equality, as academics.de succinctly summarizes.

The numbers speak for themselves: While 46% of doctoral students are female, the proportion drops to 29% of female professors. The so-called “leaky pipeline” phenomenon makes it clear that many women are lost in the higher echelons of the academic career ladder. To counteract this, more and more initiatives are being launched to ensure that the proportion of women at each career stage is at least equal to the previous one. The BMBF's cascade model is a central component here, with a focus on long-term stability so that more women get into leadership positions.

Diverse programs and initiatives

The BMBF also supports a variety of other programs. Starting with the meta-project “Innovative Women in Focus”, which increases the visibility of women in science, to specific projects such as “Women Scientists in the Media”, which aims to examine and promote the presence of women scientists in the media. The integration of gender aspects into research is intended to ensure that they are incorporated into issues affecting society as a whole and thus excellent research results can be achieved, as explained on bmbf.de.

This multi-layered funding not only ensures equal opportunities, but also greater diversity in science and research, which is crucial for international competitiveness. The road is still long, but programs such as “CareerWegeMentoring” and the numerous state and federal initiatives are working impressively to achieve equality in science.