Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB
Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB
Equal opportunities
Equal opportunities
Collage mit Bildern mehrerer Wissenschaftlerinnen
© Fraunhofer IGB und Fraunhofer, Marc Müller
Women in Science am Fraunhofer IGB

© Fraunhofer IGB und Fraunhofer, Marc Müller

Equal opportunities

Equal opportunities at Fraunhofer IGB

Fraunhofer IGB is among the Fraunhofer Institutes that employ the highest proportion of women – more than 50 percent of the workforce is female. This figure is high not only in management but also in roles in the field of science and engineering.

The aspect of equal opportunities for women and men in the workplace is an important corporate objective of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. At Fraunhofer IGB, we successfully implement this important concern as early as the recruitment of young researchers, for example by participating in the Fraunhofer Talent School. This continues e.g. with the career development of women within the TALENTA program.

Gender equality is a key company objective

At the company level, we also support the objectives for implementing equal opportunities at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and therefore contribute within the policy framework to the development and structural anchoring of strategies aimed at increasing the visibility of women.

To develop individual objectives and suitable strategies for our institute on the basis of an analysis of the status quo, we regularly participate in the support program established by the Fraunhofer headquarters to promote equal opportunities within the institutes. The benefit of this is twofold: We can share our own tools and experiences with other institutes and, in return, benefit from new perspectives, taking away examples of best practice that we can implement in our work.

Career development with Fraunhofer TALENTA

In the area of career development, we support female employees in applying for the "Fraunhofer TALENTA" program, which addresses different levels of career development in the three program lines start, speed up and excellence.

Since 2014, 13 female scientists at the IGB have so far participated in and completed the TALENTA program (as of December 2020).

 

TALENTA participant Dr.-Ing. Susanne Zibek

"I was able to invest the funding in further training that advanced me both personally and professionally," explains group manager Dr.-Ing. Susanne Zibek, who successfully completed the TALENTA excellence funding program in 2019.

 

© Fraunhofer IGB

Since then, the scientist has participated in the additional mentoring module of TALENTA excellence. In the regular exchange in a tandem mentoring, individual questions can be worked on concretely, potentials and possibilities for further professional steps can be identified and systematically developed.

to profile of Susanne Zibek

Work-life balance

To help employees balance family and career, we offer flexible working hours to a large extent and a childcare office at our Stuttgart site. In addition, there is the opportunity of childcare in Stuttgart in daycare centers close to the company. In 2019, Fraunhofer IGB was awarded the Fraunhofer Family Logo.

Fraunhofer FamilyLogo: Excellent work-life balance at our institute

Fraunhofer IGB was awarded the "Fraunhofer FamilyLogo" in 2019, which is an award from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft for outstanding conditions for reconciling work and private life.  

The Fraunhofer FamilyLogo is based on comparable external certifications such as the audit "Career and Family". It covers six subject areas, ranging from flexible work opportunities, childcare offers, support during parental leave to the use of Fraunhofer support offers, and is of central importance for the implementation of the compatibility of work and family life.

With 81.1 out of 100 points achieved, our institute shows that it offers its employees excellent family and life-phase oriented working conditions as well as good framework conditions for flexible working. In addition, we are very open to the needs of our employees and offer support for childcare, parental leave and re-entry.

Establishing new pathways for careers

At Fraunhofer IGB and CBP, we make every effort to structure our daily working life in such a way as to promote equal opportunities, which is demonstrated in the new initiatives we have established for employees, for example.

 

Women@Work format casts a spotlight on women and the work they do

As part of the new IGB-internal portrait series “Women@Work,” female colleagues from all areas of work, such as science, engineering, management and administration, are introducing themselves in their own, personal way. This presentation provides them with visibility and direct contacts, thus strengthening their internal network right from the start, and creates long-term role models for future female employees at Fraunhofer.

The new initiative not only provides information about the exciting business areas in which these women work but also draws attention to their other areas of interest and capabilities, which are not normally, or only rarely, seen in day-to-day activities. In this way, we provide a holistic image of the colleagues and showcase their development potential on a very personal level. Anchor points for their career paths can be identified at an early stage and can be integrated into strategic HR development.

With our derived format #WomanInScience on our social media channels, we also want to send a clear signal to our female applicants.

#WomenInScience

© Fraunhofer IGB

Gabriele Vacun M. Sc., Scientist Innovation Field Virus-based Technologies

"I'm an expert in cell culture, the cultivation of viruses, virus detection, assay establishment and cloning at our institute. So you typically meet me at the sterile bench in the lab. I found it particularly interesting and challenging to be involved in the CoroVacc project. There I had the opportunity to learn the techniques for producing a vector-based vaccine. I would like to further expand my professional experience, freely following my motto: Well-trained employees advance the work at the IGB."

Dr. Melanie Iwanow, Scientist Innovation Field Bioinspired Chemistry

"I work at the IGB in the field of biohybrid materials – that is, at the interface between chemistry, biology and materials. Our innovation field researches the conversion of waste materials, biomass and carbon dioxide into valuable products. The exciting tasks, daily challenges and variety were also why I chose science. To all those who are considering a path in science, I would like to say: it is worth it! The path will certainly not always be easy, whether you choose to study or train, but what path is."
© Fraunhofer IGB

Katharina Wasmer M. Sc., Scientist Analytics

"In chemical analysis at Fraunhofer IGB, I support industry and research with project- and process-related chemical analyses and develop problem-adapted analytical methods. What is particularly interesting for me is that I am always in contact with new customers and their requirements for analyses and can develop new methods."
© Fraunhofer IGB

Dipl.-Agr.-Biol. Sabine Krieg, former Innovation Management and Head of High-Performance Center Mass Personalization

"At Fraunhofer IGB, she was the expert in coordinating complex strategic projects and cross-site concepts. She was particularly interested in being able to make a meaningful contribution to new socially relevant developments. Her work as an Equal Opportunity Officer motivated her because she believes that 'every human being is a limitless opportunity.' (A. Camus). Her motto: The head is round so that thoughts can change direction!"

Shared management – “Successful double” concept

To support the successfully established “Women@Work” initiative and to develop additional concepts in the area of equal opportunities, a team comprising the equal opportunities officers, a female HR developer and a female scientist came up with the project “Successful double.” At the end of 2021, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft approved funding for the concept as part of the internal program to support diversity measures within the institutes.

The concept focuses on the development of specific ideas for implementing shared management positions. For this purpose, the equality team will prepare, implement and consolidate different initiatives and workshops for women.

We are thus addressing the needs of future female employees, thereby gaining a competitive edge for attracting and recruiting outstanding specialists in order to secure the long-term success of our work.

Further information

 

© Fraunhofer IGB

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