Legal Basis
The Higher Education Act NRW, together with the State Equal Opportunities Act, defines the rights and duties of the Faculty Equal Opportunities Officers.
Section 24 para. 3 HG NRW states the following about the equal opportunities officers of the departments: “The departments appoint equal opportunities officers of the department and their deputies. The equal opportunities officer of the department shall work towards the inclusion of aspects relevant to equal opportunities in the fulfillment of the department's tasks. She may attend meetings of the departmental councils and appointment committees and other departmental bodies on behalf of the central Equal Opportunities Officer. [...]”.
The term of office of the Faculty Equal Opportunities Officer is two years, for female students one year (§ 21 para. 5 GO). Furthermore, Section 15 (2) LGG NRW stipulates that a woman must be appointed as Equal Opportunities Officer.
It holds that the central Equal Opportunities Officer, in exercising her professional freedom to issue instructions in accordance with Section 16 LGG NRW, transfers general or individual competencies, tasks and duties to the Equal Opportunities Officers of the faculties and their deputies.

Tasks
The main tasks of the Equal Opportunities Officer are to support appointment and staffing procedures, to assist in the preparation of equal opportunities plans and to advise and inform members of the university. Derived from the rights of the central Equal Opportunities Officer, the Faculty Equal Opportunities Officer has the following powers:
- Comprehensive right to information and consultation as well as access to all files at every stage of (organizational and personnel) equality-relevant measures.
- Participation in all committees and commissions in the Faculty with the right to submit proposals and speak.
- Invitation to appointment committees as a member.
- Advising and informing all members of the Faculty on gender equality issues.
The Equal Opportunities Officer of the Faculty and her deputies represent the Central Equal Opportunities Officer in the appointment procedures and in the Faculty Council. In doing so, they ensure that the requirements of the LGG NRW are implemented, i.e. that the appointment procedure is carried out in an equal opportunities manner.
Guides and links to statutory requirements
Section 24 of the NRW Higher Education Act defines the tasks of the central Equal Opportunities Officer and her deputies with regard to the special circumstances at the universities.
The Fundamental Rights and thus Art. 3 Para. 2 GG apply directly to the state. In the public sector, this entails the obligation to ensure that women and men actually have equal opportunities for their professional development and participate equally in organizational and decision-making processes. The legal basis for this is the State Equal Opportunities Act (LGG).
The Constitution of the University of Bonn (Chapter VII § 21) regulates the election, appointment and term of office of the Central Equal Opportunities Officer and the deputy (in accordance with § 24 para. 2 and 3 HG) as well as the Faculty Equal Opportunities Officer.
The requirement of gender parity in committee composition - information on Section 11c of the NRW Higher Education Act (HG)
Regulations for the appointment of professorships as of July 24, 2023: “The University of Bonn aims to increase the proportion of women in professorships in line with the gender equality quota in paragraph 2. Where female academics are underrepresented, active recruitment of female applicants should take place; this can be done in particular by telephone, e-mail or personal contact. [...]
The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) stipulates that discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual identity should be prevented or eliminated.
Active recruitment in appointment procedures
With regard to the gender-differentiated data, the proportion of female professors at the Faculty of Arts has developed positively in recent years and most recently (01.12.2023) amounted to 41% overall. The proportion of women has also risen considerably in the individual salary levels: at 67%, it was most recently highest among junior professors. For W2/C3 professorships, an increase to a total of 59% has been achieved. However, there is still a clear need for action in the W3/C4 professorships with a total of 31%, as well as at individual institutes or teaching units, some of which are still below 30% overall. There are also departments where there are currently no W3 professors.
In recent years, active recruitment has increasingly established itself as an instrument for improving gender equality in appointment procedures. As part of the BMBF-funded project StaRQ (Standards, Guidelines and Quality Assurance for Measures to Achieve Gender Equality in Academia, Cologne 2023 ), the Center of Excellence Women in Science (CEWS) has published a publication with recommendations for active recruitment in appointment procedures. The aim is to support those responsible for active recruitment in the design and implementation of target group-appropriate and effective recruitment measures and their incorporation into appointment regulations and guidelines, thus contributing to professionalization.
In May 2024, the HRK General Assembly adopted the resolution “Towards greater gender equality in appointments - a voluntary commitment by German universities”. The universities that are members of the HRK are thus committed to further reducing structural gender inequalities and achieving appropriate gender representation in professorships at universities. To achieve greater gender equality in appointments, the HRK resolution primarily recommends more active recruitment of women in early academic career phases in order to expand the pool of female candidates for appointments. Further measures include the establishment of more gender-equitable appointment procedures and remuneration structures as well as the institutional anchoring of gender awareness. Consistent monitoring of these measures is also necessary in order to ensure that the goals are implemented.