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Dear academics at Goethe University,

Thank you very much for participating in the survey "Every academic counts!". We are pleased about the numerous responses on the topics of diversity and careers at Goethe University.

We received a total of 727 completed questionnaires. About 21% of the professors who work at Goethe University took part in the survey. The proportion of academic staff is around 20%. Additionally, we are pleased that lecturers and scholarship holders contributed to the survey. All departments are represented in the sample and about 10% of respondents used the English-language questionnaire.

In the summer of 2024, first results are expected and will be presented in university publications. The final report and its public presentation are planned for the end of 2024/beginning of 2025.

If you have any questions or inquiries, please contact the project team at diversity-survey@uni-frankfurt.de.

Questions & Answers about the Survey

The aim of the survey is to gain an insight into the work situation, careers and diversity of academics at Goethe University, and, on this basis, to advance services and measures for academics at Goethe University. To this end, we ask about your current position and experiences in your daily work as well as about discrimination and difficult professional situations at Goethe University.

As academics are a very heterogeneous group, the first part of the survey distinguishes between the following groups:

  • professors (including endowment, cooperation, qualification, third party funded and tenure track professorships)
  • academic and artistic staff members (including employees in third-party funded projects; „Akademische Rät*innen“ with a permanent or a temporary contract; junior research group leader)
  • departmental teaching staff („Lehrkräfte für besondere Aufgaben“)
  • Contract lecturers (“Lehrbeauftragte")
  • Scholarship holders or external doctoral and post-doctoral candidates (without an employment contract) at Goethe University
The project is conducted on behalf of the Goethe University Presidential Board by the Equal Opportunities Office of Goethe University. For the development of the questionnaire, the current state of research was taken into account and feedback was obtained from various departments and institutions at Goethe University. The questionnaire was also submitted to the Staff Council (“Personalrat").

The survey takes an average of 20 to 40 minutes. Various filter questions are used in the questionnaire, which means that the processing time may vary. 

Please note that the questionnaire cannot be interrupted and continued later, as we do not use personalized invitation links.

The questionnaire is mostly standardized, so that answer options are provided for clicking. At the same time, there are open text fields at various points where you can provide further information that is important to you but is not covered by the answer options.

We have made every effort to find a good balance between the limited time resources of the academics to be surveyed and the substantial need for information regarding academic careers and diversity of academics at Goethe University.

The protection of participants and their sensitive data, which is collected as part of the survey, is a central concern in the design, conduct, and analysis of the survey. To this end, a data protection declaration and a declaration of consent were drawn up in consultation with the data protection officer at Goethe University.

The detailed data protection declaration can be found at the beginning of the survey; important aspects are summarized below:

  • Participation in the survey is voluntary. In the event of participation, there is always the option of not providing any information on individual questions.
  • No contact and/or personal data (including e-mail addresses) is collected. Age information is collected in aggregated form, summarizing data in 5-year intervals. Participation is via a non-personalized link.
  • The survey is conducted using the online tool SoSci-Survey, for which Goethe University has a university license and stores the data on the university's own servers.
  • The raw data set is processed and analysed exclusively by the project team in the Equal Opportunities Office. At the end of the survey period, the data is anonymized, for example if names are mentioned in open comment fields.
  • No individual case analyses will be carried out during the analysis. Statistical results are only presented if there are at least 5 valid responses; otherwise the result is shown as N/A.
  • Analysis for the individual structural units (e.g. faculties) is carried out with a special guarantee of anonymity, so that the results cannot be traced back to individual members of the structural units.

The survey also asks about difficult work situations and experiences of discrimination. Special protection and responsible handling of this very sensitive information has the highest priority.

In principle, all responses in the questionnaire are voluntary and there is always the option of not providing any information (this also applies to the questions on socio-demographic information).

The survey primarily consists of standardized questions with predefined answer options. There are open text fields at various points, so that you can also provide descriptions in your own words if you wish.

Please also note that the survey does not replace individual counseling. Answers in the questionnaire will be anonymized immediately after the end of the survey period if names are mentioned, for example. Specific incidents will not be reported/forwarded to other bodies.

If you need support and/or advice, please contact the Anti-Discrimination Office or another university counseling service or external services in Frankfurt and the region.

Exclusively, the project team of the Equal Opportunities Office at Goethe University carries out analysis. In order to ensure anonymity, no raw data will be passed on to Goethe University institutions, only processed data. 

First results are expected in June 2024 and will be presented in university publications (e.g. on the intranet). The final report and its public presentation are planned for the end of 2024/beginning of 2025

Furthermore, analyses are planned for individual faculties and on individual key issues (e.g. onboarding, discrimination). Results will be made available to faculties and departments as well as committees and the university public at Goethe University in various ways. This includes, for example, a brochure on the careers and diversity of academics at Goethe University and useful fact sheets on selected topics.

In addition, beginning in the second half of 2024, the project team will be available to individual organizational units for the (analogue and digital) presentation of survey results.

A regular follow-up of the survey is currently not planned, which is why a high level of participation is very important for the current survey period. However, as part of the project, discussions will be held on potential future uses of the questionnaire or individual components at Goethe University. For example, a toolbox for surveying careers and diversity in science and research could be developed for Goethe University. 

We will keep you up to date on this website.

Description of the Project


Project Duration:                    01.11.2022 to 28.02.2025

Project Responsibility:          Equal Opportunities Office Goethe-University
Dr. Anja Wolde (Project Management)
Dr. Daniela Heitzmann (Project Lead)
Esther van Lück (Project Staff)

Project Funding:                    Presidential Board of Goethe University

The aim of this project is to collect data on diversity and careers of the academic staff at all career levels at Goethe University. A quantitative survey research approach is used to investigate if and to what extent academics in different life situations and along various dimensions of diversity experience discrimination. Based on the findings, existing services at Goethe University will be developed further, and career-oriented policy measures will be introduced.
While there is extensive data and research-based insight on gender inequalities in higher education and science, which can be used as a foundation for strategies and measures in equal opportunities policy, there is still a lack of proven research instruments for the collection of data on diversity and discrimination. As a result, the data situation – at Goethe University and within the higher education sector in general – currently is insufficient.
Therefore, the survey contributes to a needs-oriented direction of diversity policies at Goethe University. At the same time, it reacts to the increasing relevance of the issue in science policy and in public research funding exemplified in the direction taken by the German Research Foundation (i.e., also as part of the Excellence Strategy) and the European Union.
November 2022 to September 2023
  • Development of an online questionnaire in two languages (German/ English)
  • Exchange with different divisons at Goethe University
  • Exchange with experts in the fields of diversity work and diversity research within the nationwide context as part of an expert workshop at Goethe University
  • Development of a communication strategy to ensure a high participation rate
October 25th to December 6th 2023

Click here to access the online survey

  • Data collection period at Goethe University 
  • Wide dissemination at Goethe-University
December 2023 to June 2024
  • Analysis of the collected data
  • Preparation of a data report at Goethe University
  • Organization of a conference on diversity surveys in higher education held at Goethe University
July 2024 to February 2025
  • Preparation of a pamphlet on academic careers and diversity at Goethe University
  • University internal and external public relations work 
  • Development of a toolbox for surveys on careers and diversity in science and research at Goethe University

Contact

Dr. Daniela Heitzmann

Fon: +49 69 798-18135
Email: diversity-survey@uni-frankfurt.de

Esther van Lück

Email: diversity-survey@uni-frankfurt.de

Visiting address
SKW-Building | 5th floor
Rostocker Str. 2
60323 Frankfurt am Main

Postal address
Equal Opportunities Office
Goethe University Frankfurt
Postbox 227
60629 Frankfurt am Main