A Letter from the President — or: How the German Universities Excellence Initiative Became a Driver of Gender Change in the German Science Policy Discourse

Abstract

For several years, New Public Management and new forms of governance have dominated the agendas for reforms in research organisations and higher education institutions in many countries all over the world. Neoliberalism and the idea of the “entrepreneurial university” have produced a shift in how universities and “ideal researchers” are defined. One strategic focus of the latest state-run reform programmes has been to promote “excellence” in knowledge production and scientific organisation(s). Now every researcher and every research organisation has to be or become excellent. Another concern of reform is gender equality in the academic world. However, whether and how these developments match seems unclear. This article is focused on the latest university reforms in Germany, which have been influenced by the introduction of New Public Management into research and higher education. One main outcome of these reforms has been implementation of the “German Universities Excellence Initiative”, a nationwide programme which aims at improving the “excellence” of research in German universities and research institutions by strengthening competition among them. Considering the national-programmatic policy level of the “Excellence Initiative”, the article investigates if and how the concepts of “academic excellence” and “gender equality” intertwine in the German science policy discourse. Therefore, it discusses selected science political initiatives since the 2000s in Germany and examines the results of interviews with influential actors in German science and gender equality policy. It conducts critical analysis of current reform discourses and makes suggestions for improving gender equality policies in universities.