Research Project "Gendered University: Gender Orders at TU Dresden"
The "Gendered University" research project ended on 31 October 2017. The research report and recommendations for action were submitted to the Rectorate at the end of the project.
The marked under-representation of women in academia has been the subject of extensive research since the 1970s. The equal opportunities policy at universities for its part has initiated and implemented numerous measures and programmes in recent years to ensure a lasting and comprehensive elimination of discrimination against women in the field of academia. However, gender inequalities continue to exist at universities in spite of a visible increase in the proportion of women at various academic levels.
This therefore raises the question of where the "missing link" is between everyday practice in the various structures and subjects of the universities, the equal opportunities measures and the results of gender research, and where potential for resistance as well as barriers to reception and action can be detected within the organisation.
These key issues were taken up in the qualitative research project "Gendered University: Gender Arrangements at TU Dresden", which is an essential element of TUD's Institutional Strategy. The goal was to analyse gender arrangements at TU Dresden as well as to identify possible starting points for change. In doing this, the project focused on the university as an organisation in order to understand gendering at various levels - both in actions and in structures, right the way up to guiding principles and standards. The subject or context-specific diversity in gender arrangements was of particular interest in this context. Group discussions and participants' observations constituted the central methodological approach.
Fundamentally, the aim here was to make a link between basic and applied research. The research results were presented in the form of recommendations for practical application in order to make a contribution to TU Dresden's development as a gender-sensitive organisation.
The "Gendered University" research project was part of TU Dresden's Institutional Strategy and was funded by the Excellence Initiative of the Federal and State Governments.