Career development

The so-called “Karrierescheren” illustrate the contrasting development of female and male proportions in academic careers. The following graphs show different patterns according to cluster and faculty/center. In the humanities and cultural studies, women clearly dominate undergraduate studies, while from the doctoral level onwards, the gender ratio is largely balanced. In law, economics, and social sciences, the three departments differ greatly from one another. With their high proportion of women up to the professorship level, the social sciences are an exception across the university. In the formal and natural sciences, the proportion of women declines continuously up to the professorship level, interrupted only by tenure track positions, where there is almost gender parity. The leaky pipeline is most pronounced in the life and biological sciences. Around seven out of ten MA degrees go to women, and the doctoral rate is also high. The gender ratio is reversed when it comes to professorships: only one-third of professorships were held by women in 2025.

Note: The professors include all professorships according to § 98 and § 99 of the Austrian University Act (UG). Associate professorships according to § 99/6 UG (tenure track after fulfillment of the qualification agreement) belong to the professorships in terms of organizational law and are therefore assigned to the professorships. Tenure track positions include assistant professors and associate professors who fulfilled their qualification agreement before the 2016 amendment to the University Act.

The academic positions shown are those that currently mark possible paths for an academic career. They do not necessarily lead to a professorship.