The increasing focus on gender equal opportunities and improved compatibility of family and job have made a family policy conceivable and feasible for students. To offer students responsible for families more support, various services have been established. Studying (expectant) parents are free to use the online guide “Studieren mit Kind” (studies with a child) issued by the project group “Studieren mit Familie” (studies with a family). The project group consists of representatives of KIT, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Karlsruhe University of Education, Studierendenwerk Karlsruhe, Kinderbüro, and the deaconry.  The Student advisory services (Zentrale Studienberatung, ZSB) serves as a first contact point for students with a child. It consults and supports in all questions relating to the studies with a child or students with family responsibilities.

A working group resulting from the above project group additionally launched a campaign under the title “Kind & Campus: So geht’s!” (child and campus: This is how it works). It addresses students with own families and focuses on enhancing the compatibility of childcare and studies as well as family friendliness in Karlsruhe by so-called “Kind & Campus-Treffs” (child and campus meetings) for networking and information exchange. Webinars on specific topics are offered. 

KIT additionally offers a parent-child learning room that is available to students for learning with their children. The room is furnished with desks for the parents and a well-equipped play corner for the child.

Press release of the DSW on the BAföG amendment

The German Student Union (DSW) is pleased about the planned increase of the parental allowance by 20% and the raising of the age limit to 45 years. Expresses criticism however at the increase of the need rates by only 5%. "Inflation eats up this increase right away," says DSW Secretary General Matthias Anbuhl. 

The complete press release can be found here.

Support for students with caregiving responsibilities

Family caregivers play a very important role in the care of people in need of assistance in Germany. Young people also take on such tasks. However, the group of young caregivers is almost invisible. Most of the time, young people take this for granted, but are confronted with an overwhelming situation. This can lead to negative psychological and social consequences and to poorer performance in their studies or careers. The following document lists ways and means to support students with caregiving responsibilities. 

Family-friendly studying - a look into practice

On November 17, 2021, World Student Day, berufundfamilie GmbH published a blog on the compatibility of studies and family responsibilities and also provides information on the family-friendly university audit, which is based on the berufundfamilie audit. Along the exemplarily selected fields of action study time, family-fair study organization, location-flexible studying, information and communication, monetary achievements and study financing as well as family-fair infrastructure exemplary measures from the family-fair practice of after the audit certified universities are represented. The blog can be found here.

Press Release of the Deutschen Studentenwerk (DSW)

The Secretary General of the DSW, Matthias Anbuhl, demands "a strong package for students" from the new federal government. This should include, above all, the rapid expansion of the BAfög, a concept for the expansion of dormitory and cafeteria capacities, and the expansion of psychosocial counseling.

In particular the BAfög needs a reform, so Anbuhl, so that the assistance reaches more studying, above all also these from the middle class. He calls for an increase in the requirement rates and a parental allowance. Anbuhl makes it clear that the pandemic has brought to light many problems and weaknesses in the German education system, which represents a major challenge for Germany. More qualified people are needed for this, but the educational path of a person in Germany still depends very much on the socio-economic background.

The entire press release can be found here.

BAföG: Support for pupils and students is in need of a reform

Deciding who gets BAföG and how much leads to discussions again and again. If you look at the figures, you can see that the number of students has doubled over the last four years, but the number of BAföG recipients has declined. This fact shows that the funding needs a reform. This opinion is also shared by politicians, including the Federal Minister of Education, Karliczek (CDU). The CDU/CSU generally positions itself in favor of a more flexible BAföG, the Greens want BAföG to be a basic income, and the FDP calls for a model that is completely independent of parents.

Initiative Cliché-Free: Career paths free of role clichés ("Initiative Klischeefrei: Berufswege frei von Rollenklischees")

In its "Career Paths" series, the "Initiative Klischeefrei" (Cliché-Free Initiative) of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) presents young people who have chosen an "atypical" occupation. In portraits, they report on their experiences in the profession and on how important it is not to be guided by "classic role models" when choosing a career. More information on career profiles and events organized by the "Initiative Klischeefrei" can be found at www.klischee-frei.de.

Documentation of the symposium "Family-friendly studies in times of Corona" from June 16 and 17, 2021

The digital symposium of the German Student Union examined the situation of students or studying parents in the pandemic - you can read more about it on the "SFS-Infoportal".

21^st informatica feminale Baden-Württemberg (June 14, 2021)

This year's annual summer school for computer science is once again aimed at female students and women in the field of computer science and related disciplines with a diverse range of courses. The informatica feminale brings together female students, scientists and IT women from practice in order to gain new impulses for the study of computer science and to create space for further qualification among women. The upcoming informatica feminale will take place...

• When? From 27 to 31 July 2021
• Where? Online

The informatic summer school is a joint project of the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts  Baden-Württemberg, the network F.I.T. and the state initiative ,,Frauen in MINT-Berufen in Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Forschung''. Further information about the event and contact persons can be found here.

Online survey: Society of Ideas - Gesellschaft der Ideen (June 14, 2021)

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is looking for new impulses for a common togetherness and the best ideas for social innovations. In the first competition phase, the BMBF has already awarded 30 ideas, which are now starting phase 2. The ideas can still be evaluated until June 21. The jury will take the ratings into account in order to advance to the next round. Among the 30 is the project ,,POPP! Filterblasen spielerisch zum Platzen bringen‘‘ (,,POPP! Bursting Filter Bubbles Playfully‘‘) from ITAS - Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis of KIT. Other exciting ideas are also in the running, such as workplace improvements tailored to the needs of women, intergenerational meetings on the topic of elderly care, or mobbing prevention. Further information on the ideas and the competition can be found here.

Father, Mother, Child? Family in change (June 7, 2021)

What makes a family? What difficulties does it face today? And how much are we shaped by our family histories? Planet Wissen (SWR) talked about these questions with the historian Rolf-Ulrich Kunze from KIT, among others. The full-length discussion can be found in the Planet Wissen media library.

Overnight accommodation for parents living in separation (June 7, 2021)

Mein Papa kommt/Meine Mama kommt is a nationwide visitation program that encourages parents and children with two homes to be together. After a separation, there can be hundreds of miles between child and parent. To ensure that fathers and mothers are not prevented by long distances from losing the bond with their child, volunteer hosts get involved and offer free overnight stays at the child's home. More information about the offer can be found here. 

Family-friendly support and offers (June 7, 2021)

Lokale Bündnisse für Familie (Local Alliances for the Family) is an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs that promotes the networking of various actors at the local level. With a wide range of offers, the initiative strives for a change in society that promotes the compatibility of family and career instead of making it more difficult. The offers range from support in financial matters and family benefits, help in crisis situations to vacation, childcare and employment offers for children. Offers and dates are continuously updated and can be viewed on the website of the Local Alliances for the Family.

What is this? - Educational work by gender equal opportunity officers (May 31, 2021)

A campaign by the city of Munich is dedicated to the transparency of gender equal opportunity tasks. What do gender equal opportunity commissioners want to achieve? Why are their concerns important? What does the term gender mainstreaming actually mean? In order to dispel misconceptions, Munich's gender equal opportunity commissioners are doing educational work: this video illustrates the necessity and motivation of gender mainstreaming.

Gender relations in science (May 31, 2021)

The book Kooperation und Konkurrenz im Wissenschaftsbetrieb: Perspektiven aus der Genderforschung und -politik was co-authored by women scientists who are dedicated to gender research. The authors share insights into networking and gender equality work at universities and gender relati-ons in science. Recommended by the Society for Education and Science (GEW).

Perspectives for more gender justice (May 31, 2021)

Last year, sociology professor Jutta Allmendinger and other experts discussed the social consequences of the corona pandemic on talk show host Anne Will. ,,Women will continue to experience a terrible retraditionalization. I don't think it will be so easy to make up for it, and that we will lose three decades,‘‘ Allmendinger said of the emerging rollback in gender relations. In her book Es geht nur gemeinsam! Wie wir endlich Geschlechtergerechtigkeit erreichen Allmendinger confirms her thesis with sociological data. The editorial team of Deutschlandfunk sees the book's potential in depicting social reality and pointing out perspectives that should help to make social relations fairer. 

Studying with a child - reconciling and overcoming challenges (May 17, 2021)

Organizing a course of study and raising a child at the same time faces young parents with many challenges. The ongoing pandemic season confronts young families with further hurdles. But these hurdles are not insurmountable; on the contrary, there are numerous support services that provide solutions to organizational and financial difficulties. The study guide studienwahl.de makes attentive on evenly those assistance offers and shows on the basis of best practice examples how both obligations can be agreed with one another. Further information and advice can be found here on the family portal under the heading ,,Consultation/Service''.

The bukof formulates 18 positions for a gender-equitable higher education policy (May 17, 2021)

The Federal Conference of Women's and Gender Equal Opportunity Officers at Universities (bukof) addresses stakeholders in the German higher education landscape with a position paper for a gender-equitable higher education policy. The demands of bukof represent an orientation framework for students as well as for employees in teaching, technology and administration: The bukof opens up perspectives and reveals the need for change, which, for example, affects the study conditions or staff organization at universities. The full text of the positions can be found on the bukof website.

Childcare – What regulations are applied in which state? (May 11, 2021)

Education policy is regulated by the states. In this case there have been no changes during the Corona crisis. It is hardly surprising that parents lose the track of all the regulations which are valid for childcare. In consequence parents are wondering what regulations are applied in their home state. The german student union (Deutsches Studentenwerk) regularly updates all the general regulations in every single german state. Current (needed) childcare possibilities of each state are listed here.

Online course: Dream goal "Mrs Doctor" or: How do I start a dissertation? (May 10, 2021)

The State Conference of Gender Equal Opportunity Officers at Universities in BaWü (Landeskonferenz der Gleichstellungsbeauftragten an Hochschulen BaWü - Lakof) offers a two-part online course to female graduates who would like to pursue an academic career after graduation. The doctorate is the ticket to employment as a research associate. Therefore, the focus of the course is on finding a topic, supervision and financing of a dissertation. The course participants will not only receive further tips from experienced female scientists, but will also have the opportunity to address their own questions to the speakers. The two parts of the course take place on 1^st October 2021 and 17^th February 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m. each. Further information can be found on the Lakof website. 

Abuse of power in science – The perspective of doctoral students (May 10, 2021)

The N2 - Network of Doctoral Student Networks regularly conducts surveys among more than 16.000 doctoral students throughout Germany to represent the interests of doctoral students to research organizations and the public. One of the most recent surveys addresses the phenomenon of abuse of power in science. The survey results suggest an urgent need for action, as there is a high level of dissatisfaction among doctoral students. The respondents state that they perceive the strong dependence on a person hierarchically superior to them as problematic. Bullying by supervisors and superiors is one of many reasons why doctoral students think about leaving science. More information about the survey and the results can be found here.

Changes in social and family policy in 2021 (April 8, 2021)

The german student union (Deutsches Studentenwerk) gives an overview of the latest changes and developements of social and family policy in 2021. Various information can be found in here, e.g. current arrangements for increasing child allowance (Kindergeld) and tax-free child allowance (Kinderfreibetrag), the adjustment of the Düsseldorfer Tabelle, financial discharge of single parents and arrangements for increasing of the housing benefit (Wohngeld). Further information to all changes can be found on the official website of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Therefore, the german student union gives advices by offering links in its published overview.

Social pedagogical blog around Corona (continuously up to date)

The Blog developed from an initiative of the executive committee of the commission social paedagogy in the Deutschen Gesellschaft für Erziehungswissenschaft e.V. It reacts to the diverse social questions that have arisen due to the Corona pandemic, especially with regard to education, care, nursing, etc.

Opening of schools – criticism by the GEW (February 16, 2021)

Which conditions have to be fulfilled to re-open schools? Does it make sense to link opening decisions to incidence numbers? Why is it important to have federal regulations for schools? The GEW criticizes the plans of policy in terms of re-opening schools. Marlis Tepe, president of the GEW, explains that decisions are made too hastily and that implementation is therefore about to fail. The demands of the GEW can be read here.

Studying with children - a report of a couple's experiences (February 16, 2021)

Julia and Julius Rind talk about their daily lives as students and young parents of two children in kindergarten age. How can studies and raising children be brought together? The podcast is available here.

Children, household, care - who takes care? (January 27, 2021)

The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth has published a dossier on the subject of "Children, Household, Care – who cares? Women and men are equally faced with the challenge of fulfilling professional obligations and care responsibilities. Equality policy aims to create a framework that enables women and men to share the work and care responsibilities in partnership. The dossier looks at the gender care gap, its causes and possible solutions. Are women the losers of the Covid-19 pandemic? A survey conducted by the Institute for Employment Research (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung) also deals with this question. The results of the survey can be viewed in the IBA-Forum.

Equality and university in the pandemic (continuously up to date)

The federal conference of women’s and gender equal opportunities commissioners of universities offers current information about equality, science and universities during the corona-pandemic.