At the request of the Ministry of Education, Science and Research with regard to the non-fulfillment of the women's quota, an analysis of gender representation in university committees and functions was carried out. The starting point of the analysis was the challenge of fulfilling the quotas for women in various committees at the University of Graz, which would result in a disproportionate number of women working on committees in some departments without an increase in the proportion of women on staff.
In order to analyze this as comprehensively as possible, participation in habilitation, appointment, selection and curriculum committees as well as all leadership functions (e.g. heads of institutes, centers, doctoral schools), activities in faculty committees, dean's offices, in the Senate, in university courses and tasks within the framework of the Working Group for Equal Opportunities (AKGL) and the Works Council.
The analysis showed that women were disproportionately active on committees, although the 50% quota for women could not be achieved in some committees. This applied to both professors and mid-level staff. The gender differences can be attributed in particular to the commitment in the appointment, selection and habilitation committees. The strong involvement of individual women in the activities of the AKGL contributes to a disproportionately high level of participation, particularly in the mid-level faculty.
Against this background, the question arises of creating incentives for women to become more involved in committees and functions in the future. In this context, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research recommends, among other things, the granting of a research leave semester based on a points system as an incentive system for women, a temporary leave of absence and a right to personnel support in research work for female scientists overburdened by committee work (see BMBWF 2017, p. 28).
Based on these recommendations, an initial implementation phase from 2020 to 2022 saw the introduction of a gratuity system for disproportionate participation in committees and the assumption of functions for women at the University of Graz. In this first pilot, those ten women (TOP 10) who took on the most committee activities and functions in the two-year period were awarded a compensation payment or bonus.