Gender Equality Plan (GEP)

1       Preamble

Promoting the equal participation and development of women and men at all hierarchical levels is an integral part of our strategy and a clear corporate goal. Since the founding of the institute, we have stringently pursued this goal with targeted, coordinated measures that combine to form an overall concept. We promote fair career and development opportunities across all career levels in order to advance a cultural change for more gender equality.

2      Commitment of the management

The management of OWI Science for Fuels fills all specialist and management positions on the premise of professional excellence and personal suitability. This process is carried out in a non-discriminatory manner, taking into account the principles of equality.

2.1    Public document

This document is freely available for review by employees, students, applicants, and stakeholders on both the intranet and the Internet.

2.2      Ressources

The management of OWI Science for Fuels also commissions specialists for occupational safety, as well as occupational physicians, mediators, moderators and coaches for consultation and collection of gender-specific data, as well as their evaluations.

2.3      Monitoring

In the company, gender-specific evaluations are regularly collected, analyzed and fed back to the action strategies. Thus we follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act process from the quality management.

  • Questionnaire techniques by the occupational physicians
    • Implementation of risk assessment of psychological hazards
  • questionnaire by the works council
    • Employee satisfaction
  • Feedback in the context of personnel development
    • Moderated feedback discussions of the superiors
    • Self-assessment and evaluation of the employees by the supervisors

2.4      Training and instruction

All managers participate in the instruction “General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) – Information for Supervisors”. The contents are:

  • These parts are aimed at responsible persons in companies. In the first part, supervisors receive basic information on the General Equal Treatment Act. They also find out what obligations they have under the Act and what justification options exist in the event of “unequal treatment”.
  • In the second part, supervisors are shown what rights and obligations employees have, what can be expected in the event of violations of the AGG and in which areas or processes they must pay particular attention. In addition, they receive recommendations for operational practice and have the opportunity to print out checklists.

All employees take part in the instruction “General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) – Information for Employees”. The contents are:

  • The General Equal Treatment Act is discussed and it is shown which types of behavior are desired from employees, what rights they have and where they can get help if necessary.

3      Topics on the GEP

3.1    Work-life balance and organizational culture

OWI has a variety of instruments and regulations, which have been established and further developed for years.

  • Legal implementation
    • Corporate integration management
      • The purpose of occupational integration management is to investigate the causes of an employee’s incapacity for work and to look for ways to avoid or at least reduce incapacity for work in the future. This is intended to help employees who are incapacitated for work for longer than 6 weeks or repeatedly to return to work as soon as possible.
  • Health and safety at work
    • OWI regularly prepares and updates occupational health and safety documents including risk assessments for pregnant women.
  • Parental leave
    • Parental leave is unpaid time off from work for mothers and fathers who care for and raise their own child. Employees at OWI can be released from work for up to 3 years per child.
  • Company agreements
    • Company agreement on framework vacation planning
      • Priority for employees with children during vacation time
      • Priority for trainees
      • Granting of up to 7 additional vacation days
    • Company agreement on working time regulations
      • Flexible working hours
  • Corporate strategy
    • Structured personnel development
      • Feedback culture
      • Target agreements
      • Personnel development plan
    • HomeOffice arrangement
      • Offer to employees to work from home
    • Implementation of team events
    • Consideration of individual life situations
      • Reduction of working hours in case of parental care

3.2    Gender parity in management positions and decision-making processes

Management is committed to unbiased decision-making processes when filling management positions.

3.3    Gender equity in new hires and promotion opportunities

Employees are hired exclusively on the basis of their professional and personal suitability. Job advertisements are formulated in a gender-appropriate manner.

3.4    Inclusion of gender aspects in research and teaching

OWI participates in measures to promote young scientists among women in technical professions. Among other things, OWI participates in the implementation of

  • Girls-Days
    • Girls’ Day has been held in Germany on the fourth Thursday in April since 2001. As part of this day of action, schoolgirls in grades 5 to 10 from all types of schools have the opportunity to gain insights into a variety of interesting fields of work and professions that they may not have been aware of before. OWI offers this opportunity.
  • Student internships
    • OWI regularly conducts student internships to give young people insight into research and development, regardless of predetermined time periods.

3.5    Measures to combat gender-based violence, including sexual harassment.

OWI follows the path of unreserved conflict resolution, regardless of gender or origin. In case of conflict resolution, we also used external experts such as mediators, moderators and coaches as necessary.

4      Key figures

In its organizational approach, OWI Science for Fuels gGmbH follows a flat hierarchy with team leadership in top management and project leadership in middle management.

As of 04/2024, OWI has 33 employees, of which

  • Three team leaders (one woman, two men)
  • 14 project managers (seven women, seven men)
  • 11 women and 20 men employed in total.
  • Diverse forms were not reported by employees.
  • Employees from eight different nations are represented at OWI.