MeTra Mentoring Program

Despite excellent qualifications and high motivation, women continue to be underrepresented among professors as well as in other leadership positions in science and research. There are many different reasons for this: The structural barriers making a career in science difficult for women have not yet been removed. Women have fewer role models of the same gender and are less likely to be part of supportive networks.

For this and other reasons, most institutions of higher educations have established mentoring programs to recruit more women scientists and increase their share in leadership positions and professorship. Mentoring can help to create (more) gender-equal structures and to render existing hierarchies and relations of dependency more transparent or overcome them altogether. It is intended to support women planning a career in science in applying their skills more systematically and to make better use of their career opportunities.

Most mentoring programs in science work with one-to-one mentoring. This principle is based on the formation of individual counseling and discussion tandems between an experienced researcher (mentor) and a woman early-career researcher (mentee). It involves the transfer of personal experiences from the mentor’s own career, but also recommendations, tips and contacts which can help the mentee in her further career development. The mentoring relationship is framed by a training program comprising multiple seminars or workshops tailored to fit the needs of the mentee’s career level. To encourage an exchange of views among the participants and the creation of a network, there are regular networking evenings.

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