Description: Professorial appointment procedures are key sites of academic selection and, as such, central arenas where demands for gender equality intersect with established notions of academic excellence, fit, and performance. But how is equal opportunity actually negotiated within these procedures? This presentation outlines the findings of an ethnographic research project examining gender equality practices in appointment committees across various German universities. The ethnographic perspective offers a look behind formal procedures, shedding light on the roles, interpretations, and practices that shape equal opportunity work in higher education. The talk demonstrates how gender equality is enforced, framed, and at times constrained in everyday academic life—and highlights the scope for action this creates for universities and practical equal opportunity work.

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Victoria Hegner

Victoria Hegner is Professor of Empirical Cultural Studies and Cultural Anthropology at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Her research includes the Heisenberg project “Politics of Equality – An Ethnography of Gender Equality Practices in Academia,” a project on “Spiritual Ecologies,” and her habilitation thesis on “Urban Witches.” In addition, she served for several years as the full-time Gender Equality Officer for the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Göttingen.

Language: German
 

Zoom webinar registration: https://uni-frankfurt.zoom-x.de/webinar/register/WN_HH52M-cdRfGP-NPMs71GcQ

The lecture is part of the RMU Winter Series 2026: A Second Look: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Professorial Recruitment and Appointment, organized by the Gender Equality Office of TU Darmstadt, the Equality and Diversity Office at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and the Equal Opportunities Office at Goethe University Frankfurt.