Leading life as a woman or a man makes a big difference in every day life - where and how exactly is the subject of Gender Studies by highlighting the relationship of men and women, of ‚female’ and ‚male’, ‘feminine’ and ‚masculine’ in several areas of society, e.g. labour, science, medicine, law, in institutions and organisations, in education, the media, history and politics.

Since neither the male nor the female experience taken on its own render a holistic view of societal reality, the College studies commonalities and differences with respect to sex, the social constitution of gender and related gender-based inequalities as well as the intersection of these with other social differences such as socio-economic, ethnic and cultural background or educational inequalities in order to produce scientific findings which can be of use in societal practice.

The interdisciplinary research programme of the College focuses on developing a differentiated understanding of biological phenomena and social contexts and elucidating their backgrounds. This is currently happening in four joint research clusters, which deal with central social questions including historical, cultural and intersectional perspectives. As the integrative main themes under which research, doctoral and postdoctoral projects are conducted, they also offer opportunities for university-wide research cooperation. A good overview of central research topics in each cluster can be found in the UNIKATE special issue 41 Geschlechterforschung. Blick hinter die Kulissen, published by the College in summer 2012, http://www.uni-due.de/unikate/archiv.php?eu=041.