DFG project on gender parity in economics
Still a long way to go
- von Cathrin Becker
- 20.11.2025
When courses in international economic relations, financial market econometrics or competition theory are offered, the person teaching is usually a man. Only 15 per cent of economics professorships in German-speaking countries are held by women. Economists at the University of Duisburg-Essen are investigating the reasons for this under-representation. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is providing just over a quarter of a million euros for the project over the next three years.
Although gender equality has made progress, Germany still ranks among the countries with a particularly low proportion of female professors – especially in economics. The pattern is similar worldwide: According to studies, women make up only a quarter of professors in the most research-intensive economics departments worldwide. In addition, only 37 per cent of academic staff are female, and the number of female students has stagnated.
But why does economics remain male-dominated, especially in Germany, despite increasing efforts to promote gender equality? This is the focus of the new research project ”Discrimination against women in the academic context of economics” conducted by the Chairs of Health Economics and Public Finance at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE). The project team is investigating gender-specific differences in three areas: co-authorship, networking behaviour and citation patterns.
Co-authors, networks and citations
"Our basic assumption is that the publication process plays a central role in explaining the so-called ‘promotion gap’ – that is, the lower probability of women advancing in their academic careers. The reasons for differences in publication behaviour remain unclear, "says Prof. Dr. Strohmaier, an expert in public finance at the UDE. "We are interested in how decisions are made in co-authorship and how networking patterns and parenthood affect publication success," adds health economist Prof. Dr. Martin Karlsson.
Just as important as the number of publications is the recognition they receive within the scientific community, which is often measured by citations. Here as well, the existing evidence is incomplete.. "We are also investigating how citation behaviour differs in teams with different gender constellations and the advantages this has for scientific visibility and impact, " says Karlsson.
Together with his colleagues Prof. Dr. Kristina Strohmaier and postdoctoral researcher Verena Bauernschmidt, Karlsson is employing a unique combination of survey data on preferences and stereotypes, publication data and biographical information from economists in German-speaking countries.
During the project period, three scientific articles will be published in peer-reviewed journals, and the research results will be presented at national and international conferences. They will also be made available to all interested parties at the UDE, in particular members of appointment committees and equal opportunity officers, and specific recommendations for action will be derived.
Further information:
Prof. Dr Kristina Strohmaier, Faculty of Economics, Tel. 0201/18-3 6259, kristina.strohmaier@uni-due.de, Prof. Martin Karlsson, Faculty of Economics, martin.karlsson@uni-due.de
Editor: Redaktion: Cathrin Becker, Tel. 0203/37 9-2131, cathrin.becker@uni-due.de