Interviews

Losing Out on Brain Power

Interview with Katharina Kohse-Höinghaus

Only about one in eight top positions in German research was held by a woman in 2007, relegating Germany to the bottom of the league Europe-wide. A conversation with Chemist Katharina Kohse-Höinghaus about causes and remedies.

In the European Union the proportion of women in grade A academic positions stood at 19 percent in 2007. Although this represents a moderate improvement of 4 percent by comparison with 2002, a profound gender imbalance can still be observed in many countries. | Exceptions to the reference year: HR: 2008; UK: 2007/2006; DK, FR, CY, LU, AT, IL: 2006; EE, MT: 2004; PT: 2003; IE: 2002-2003; EL: 2000. Provisional data: ES. Estimated data: EU-27 (by Directorate-General Research), SI. Head count: Data for Ireland does not include the Institutes of Technology. Foto: intention

Kosmos: Professor Kohse-Höinghaus, why are there so few women in top positions in German science?
Kohse-Höinghaus: This has less to do with the women than with the system. We need a change of consciousness. For example, we ought to at least try to raise the proportion of female members on senior committees to 30 to 40 percent. Which is not easy to do when you consider disciplines like engineering.

Kosmos: A quota, then?
Kohse-Höinghaus: No, not a mandatory quota you would have to fulfil in order for the committee to be able to convene. It’s more of a goal. The EU definition of a reasonable gender ratio is 60/40. We ought to get close to that, or at least try to.

Kosmos: How does one find the right women for these top committees or positions when the pool of female candidates at this career level is already small?
Kohse-Höinghaus: : It’s true; you often get an all-male shortlist to begin with. When that happens, everyone has to start asking themselves and everyone else: Isn’t there a qualified woman out there somewhere? My experience has shown that you can indeed find qualified female candidates. But this means that we didn’t look hard enough the first time.

Kosmos: Is taking a closer look enough to bridge the discrepancy between an average of 12 percent of German female professors in leadership and decision-making positions and the EU’s ideal target of 40 percent? 
Kohse-Höinghaus: Taking a more conscious look is certainly an important factor, particularly in the career phases that we are talking about. We don’t have a problem with young talent. Inspiring young girls to go to university is obviously working well. We also have a decent percentage of female doctoral candidates. But women rarely reach the higher positions, and they are less likely to win awards. That’s why we need transparency. Appointment procedures have improved a lot in the past few years. But when it comes to granting research awards, transparency is still not a matter of course everywhere.

Kosmos: Better compatibility of family and career also improves the equality of opportunity ...
Kohse-Höinghaus: … as examples from other countries prove. We in Germany still have some catching up to do, even though things are moving. It doesn’t make sense to be losing out on so much brain power just because we only rely on one part of the population.

The proportion of women on academic boards is less than 30 percent in 20 European countries. However, the situation is more balanced in Sweden, Norway and Finland where the proportion exceeds 40 percent. | Exceptions to the reference year: IT: 2009; CZ, SK, IL: 2008; IE: 2004; PT: 2003; FR, PL: 2002. Data unavailable: BE (Dutch-speaking community), EL, ES, MT, AT, RO, TR. Estimated data: EU-27 (by Directorate-General Research). There is no common definition of boards. The total number of boards varies considerably according to country. Foto: intention

Kosmos: How did you personally manage to get this far as a female researcher and to reconcile family and career – the circumstances back then were not any better than they are today?
Kohse-Höinghaus: With a lot of support from my personal environment. And with private money for child care.

Kosmos: How do you personally support young female colleagues with families?
Kohse-Höinghaus: Not just female colleagues. Today’s fathers also want to spend more time with their children. I have several young parents on my team and I think it’s important to offer them flexibility, for example by letting them work from home sometimes or allowing them to bring a child with them if necessary. A lot of things can be arranged pragmatically if everyone is on the same wavelength. A young colleague recently told me, “Working here, I wouldn’t mind getting pregnant.” I took that as a compliment.

Kosmos: And what if everyone isn’t on the same wavelength? Young parents are not a majority everywhere.
Kohse-Höinghaus: Of course, there might be colleagues who don’t understand because their only experience is the stay-athome wife who takes exclusive care of the family. I have to stand up to these colleagues on behalf of the young parents. That’s one of the things you have to do if you want to provide a familyfriendly setting in your own small domain.

Kosmos: Do women have any specific assets that you use systematically, for example when staffing teams?
Kohse-Höinghaus: You mean these stereotypes like women’s communicative and social skills? In teams, everyone has to have certain academic competencies. Each individual has his or her own assets, and they don’t primarily depend on gender. But if there is one advantage that is specific to young mothers juggling career and childcare, it’s the fact that they are used to keeping a lot of balls in the air simultaneously. Today, this is a very important key qualification. And that is also true for fathers who do the same, of course.

Interview: Georg Scholl

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