In the mid-1980s, there was a call for greater promotion of women at FH Aachen. Walburga Hüllenkremer remembers it well. The trained mechanic had just spent a month at the university when she joined the young team of the Women's Office (Frauenbüro) in November 1990. Under the motto "Technik zum Anfassen ", or "Hands-on Technology", she developed an offer that is still available in a comparable form to this day.
As before, women are still underrepresented, especially in technical degree programmes. "Of course, we are measured against these numbers," says Stephanie Over, the current Equal Opportunity Officer of FH Aachen. It is still the university's professed goal to increase the share of female students, graduates, professors and executive employees.
However: "Our current range of tasks is much broader," she emphasises, and the new name says it all. It is about equal opportunities, fair treatment, unprejudiced thinking - in short: it's about justice. Equality is not only about promoting women, she says, but about anti-discrimination as well.
Photo Credits:
Arnd Gottschalk
Translation:
Monika Brinkmann