Top Ranking Once Again for the University of Potsdam in the CEWS Gender Equality Ranking of Higher Education Institutions
The University of Potsdam has once again secured a top position in the 2025 edition of the CEWS Gender Equality Ranking of Higher Education Institutions, maintaining its strong standing alongside universities such as Marburg, Saarland, and Duisburg-Essen. The universities in the top group share one key characteristic: a proportion of at least 40 percent women across various academic levels—from doctoral candidates to professors. This confirms that the University of Potsdam continues to be among the institutions with an above-average record in gender equality and underscores its ongoing commitment to equal opportunities in study, teaching, and research.
Published biennially by the Center of Excellence Women and Science (CEWS), the ranking is a key instrument for quality assurance in the area of gender equality at German universities. The current edition is based on official data from 2023.
“The renewed inclusion in the top group shows that we have made sustainable progress on our path to anchoring gender equality at the institutional level,” explains Prof. Dr. Barbara Höhle, Vice President for Research, Academic Career Development, and Equal Opportunities. “We have made particularly significant progress in appointing women to professorships.”
Christina Wolff, Central Equal Opportunities Officer at the University of Potsdam, adds: “We are very pleased that our structural measures and continuous activities to promote gender equality have once again been recognized. This success reflects the broad commitment at all levels of the university—and at the same time serves as a clear mandate not to lessen our efforts. Especially in a time when the fundamental importance of equality is increasingly being questioned and devalued, this recognition sends an important message: gender equality is not a passing trend but a central element of a democratic and future-oriented university.”
About the CEWS Ranking
The CEWS ranking evaluates, among other factors, the representation of women in degree programs, across academic qualification stages, and in professorships. Several indicators contribute to the assessment, based on the so-called cascade model.
The University of Potsdam regards its renewed placement in the top group as both confirmation of its achievements and a commitment to maintain and further expand its gender equality initiatives.
The full ranking is available at: : https://www.gesis.org/cews/cews-publikationen/cewspublik