Equal career opportunities at Fraunhofer

Promoting equal participation and development for women and men at all hierarchical levels is an integral part of our strategy and an important objective for Fraunhofer. Since 2012, we have been rigorously pursuing this objective with targeted, mutually compatible measures that come together to form an overall policy on fostering equal career opportunities. Through a variety of measures and programs, such as the Fraunhofer Family Logo, our de-biasing approach and the TALENTA program, we are promoting fair career and development opportunities across all career stages and driving cultural change toward greater gender equality.

The equal opportunities support program, established in 2021, helps our institutes develop strategies to promote equal opportunities. From strategy development and recruiting to career development, cultural change and unconscious bias, the program modules are made up of topic-specific workshops, best practices and networking in peer groups. The program facilitates mutual learning and establishes a community of practice to promote equal opportunity.

At Fraunhofer, we strive to create an open working environment where all Fraunhofer employees feel welcome, appreciated and like they belong – regardless of their gender identities and sexual orientations. Factors involved include gender-neutral language, formats such as diversity day and the rainbow network. The rainbow network for employees offers a valuable platform for exchange of ideas and actively works to promote the visibility and acceptance of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. It promotes dialogue and a feeling of community to create an open and inclusive working environment for everyone.

 

Recruiting female scientists

To increase the proportion of women in scientific and managerial positions in the long term, Fraunhofer focuses on providing support at an early stage and on recruiting more women for STEM roles. Various measures, such as the Fraunhofer Science Campus and the TALENTA career program, are specifically aimed at female students and graduates with the goal of bringing them on board for their doctoral studies or to start their careers at Fraunhofer institutes.

 

Career development

Advancing the careers of female scientists and managers is a particular area of focus for us. The Fraunhofer TALENTA career program offers support at various levels of career development for female scientists and managers. It comprises three program strands: TALENTA start, for entry-level candidates; TALENTA speed up, which provides support to those taking on management or specialist responsibilities; and TALENTA excellence, which helps qualified candidates balance scientific excellence with individual positioning as managers. The program supports women through structured career development, training and targeted networking with other female scientists and researchers. These measures help participants to reach their career goals while also increasing the proportion of female managers within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on a lasting basis.

 

Work-life balance

Through a variety of support measures such as the childcare assistance provided by pme Familienservice and through the Fraunhofer Family Logo, which is awarded to Fraunhofer institutes that provide outstanding conditions for reconciling careers and family life, we create attractive working conditions for all employees so they can achieve a good work-life balance.

 

Monitoring

Regular reporting on current gender distribution figures at individual management levels, combined with the development and implementation of guidelines on equality, supports the achievement of Fraunhofer-specific cascade models.

 

Networks and communication

It is also important to us that equal gender participation should be made visible in committee and stakeholder work, in networks – for example, the “Chefsache” Initiative – and in internal and external communication.

 

Cultural development

Raising awareness on topics such as unconscious bias and gender-sensitive language, along with the measures that form part of the equal opportunities support program, also support the entire organization and help to create a fairer culture.