The gender gap in political science education in germany

Abstract

Gender studies in Germany is not a fully integrated aspect of political science training. Only very few of the about 70 political science institutes include gender research in their teaching programmes. This is surprising given that there are a number of factors that support a stronger institutionalisation of gender studies, such as the size of the German political science community, an increase in female faculty, and equal opportunity policies that have been adopted by the German Political Science Association. This article discusses the restrictive factors that impact upon gender studies within Germany and compares a 2009 study on the mainstreaming of gender topics in B.A. and M.A. programmes in political science with a more recent 2014 survey. The findings of this study point to the fact that while there have been some overall trends, there nonetheless remain a number of barriers to improving the position of gender studies, not least the small size of many institutes. Indeed, the survey reinforces the position whereby teaching tends to concentrate on what are regarded as the ‘important topics’, while gender becomes, at best, secondary. This reflects a broader finding that demands for more women in academia are easier to implement than the need for a gender mainstreaming of the political science curriculum.