Gender Monitoring at KIT
The annual Gender Monitoring Report primarily presents developments in the proportion of women within the defined target categories of the respective valid Gender Equality Plan (GEP).
The Gender Equality Plan includes an assessment and a descriptive analysis of KIT’s staff, as well as specific targets and measures aimed at increasing the proportion of women and achieving equal opportunity. In addition to the overall situation at KIT, the plan also examines equal opportunity conditions within each Division and discipline. Pursuant to Section 16(5) of the KIT Act (KITG), the Gender Equality Plan forms part of KIT’s Structure and Development Plan and is valid for five years. In the interim report on the Gender Equality Plan, KIT assesses progress toward achieving the defined targets and timelines.
The purpose of gender monitoring at KIT is to establish a reporting and management instrument for implementing equal opportunity goals that:
- systematically tracks the planning and achievement of equal opportunity objectives,
- focuses on the implementation of equal opportunity measures
- fosters accountability,
- enables systematic integration of centralized and decentralized elements through statements by departmental management on department-specific equal opportunity conditions (in the interim reports and the Gender Equality Plan).
Gender monitoring is understood as a service offer for the KIT management as well as for scientific and science-supporting institutions.
Gender monitoring data is collected annually (since its introduction in 2015) and submitted for information to the KIT Presidium, the Equal Opportunity Officers, the KIT Senate, and the Supervisory Board.
(Resource available only in German)
Download(Resource available only in German. Interim report corresponds to the 2024 Gender Monitoring Report)
link(Resource available only in German)
DownloadData 2025: The most important facts in brief
Gender Ratio by Qualification and Career Level
The chart illustrates the gender ratio at the various qualification and career levels. In 2025, the proportion of women among researchers initially rose from 31% at the master’s degree level to 34% among professors under the age of 50. This demonstrates the success of increased recruitment of women at all career levels.
Appointment Procedures
An analysis of the appointment procedures for filling a professorship in 2025 reveals a significant increase in the proportion of women at each stage of the process. While women accounted for 22% of applications, 44% of appointments went to women. Compared to the previous year, the proportion of women on shortlists increased by 6 percentage points, and the proportion of women receiving appointments increased by an additional 3 percentage points.
Committees and Management Positions
In 2025, women accounted for 20% of the Executive Board members. As of the reporting date of the Gender Monitoring Report, women accounted for 25% of heads of division, due to one vacancy. Currently, the proportion of women in these positions stands at 20%. In the KIT Senate, 26% of the members are women. Women make up 45% of the members of the KIT Supervisory Board. Among the heads of business units, staff departments, and central research institutions, women will account for 47% in 2025.
Staff
The proportion of women holding professorships* at KIT stood at 21% in 2025, representing a 7-percentage-point increase compared to the baseline of the current Equal Opportunity Plan for 2022–2026 . Among research staff, the proportion of women was 31% in 2023, and among research support staff in administration, technical services, and the library, it was 54%. In 2025, the proportion of women among trainees reached a new high of
44%.
* Excluding acting professorships ("Vertretungsprofessuren").
Positive Progress for KIT in the CEWS Ranking Based on Gender Equality Criteria
In the latest “CEWS University Ranking on Gender Equality 2025,” the positive trend of previous years continued: KIT moved up to Rank Group 4 out of a total of 12 rank groups in the overall ranking of 101 universities. In the previous 2023 ranking, KIT was in ranking group 6; two years earlier, in 2021, it was still in ranking group 8. KIT news release dated July 10, 2025, on the results of the CEWS University Ranking.
