Focus professorship in ‘Social Sustainability and Gender’ at the H-BRS

Research focus

A key objective of the focus professorship is to raise awareness of women’s needs and aspirations in the field of technology. “I am a focus professor in Gender Studies at H-BRS because I want to embed gender research structurally within our university. The variables of gender and diversity are relevant in many research projects: from social policy to computer science, from climate change to human-machine interaction. I aim to highlight the impact of taking these into account through dialogue and networking within the university, as well as through my own research,” explains Prof. Keil. The research focuses on how gender aspects can be integrated into technical, environmental and economic sustainability. This includes investigating how diverse teams can drive technical innovation and improve its sustainability. In particular, the research examines how women and diverse teams can contribute to the development of more environmentally friendly products and processes. Studies show that women often place a greater emphasis on sustainability in this context, for example by taking into account the life cycles of technical products.

Improving the visibility of women in engineering

Furthermore, Prof. Keil sees the interplay between the three areas of ‘engineering – gender – journalism’ as a key factor in inspiring more girls and young women to take an interest in technical subjects.This is based on the observation that diverse teams of developers broaden the perspective on people’s needs when it comes to technical innovations. Furthermore, the professor sees great potential in the media to change society’s perception of technology, which is often still heavily associated with male role models.

Planned research projects

A key project led by Prof. Keil aims to investigate the significance of sustainability for female professors and female engineers in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and to present the findings in multimedia format in order to raise awareness of them within professional circles. A key research question in this context is: What significance does the topic of ‘sustainability’ hold for female professors of engineering and computer science at universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, and for female engineers and computer scientists working in companies in North Rhine-Westphalia?

In addition, a longitudinal study is being carried out on the long-term impact of STEM media projects. This study investigates whether participation in projects such as ‘Electrical Engineering Instead of BibisBeautyPalace’ can lead to sustainability in girls’ interest in technology. The research question here is: What becomes of the schoolgirls who have taken part in such projects? Do they choose to study a technical subject?

Another research project focuses on science communication relating to gender studies. It investigates the extent to which gender studies is the subject of science communication and, in particular, of science journalism.