Talent, creativity and passion – that’s what the Max Planck Society and the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance rely on. We support our employees irrespective of gender, nationality, religion, disability, age, cultural background or sexual identity, because their diversity is the basis for cutting-edge research.

The Max Planck Society as an employer:

• is committed to equal opportunities for all and works towards implementing equality-oriented guidelines and offering attractive framework conditions,

• focuses continually on career advancement and pays special attention to its female scientists: they are still heavily under-represented at managerial levels, and their future prospects are less clear than those of their male colleagues,

• strives to offer structured support to young scientists in order to help them achieve their individual career goals,

• builds bridges to facilitate the reconciliation of family life, leisure and career and to bring about more women in managerial positions,

• on 1 January 2017 joined the initiative “Management Matters” (Chefsache), a network of executives from business, science, the public sector and the media who – under the leadership of Angela Merkel – are committed to equal opportunities for women and men.

This is offered by the Max Planck Society and the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance:

• a financial support system designed to enable both postdocs and doctoral students to concentrate on their scientific work,
   
• a financial support structure that enables participation in national and international conferences or gives students the freedom to be present at a domestic or foreign research institution, where necessary for scientific activities,
   
• flexible working hours,
   
• the possibility of teleworking, for example to visit co-authors at other research institutions,
   
• in-house seminars organised centrally by MPG, which impart knowledge in soft skills and leadership skills,

• Max Planck LeadNet, the interest group for the postdoc community,
   
• maxNet, Max Planck’s own social network, for better information exchange and networking with other scientists from the Max Planck Society,
   
• Career Steps Network, an MPG-internal network for career development, which promotes the topics of career development and work-life balance, promotes the exchange of well-functioning measures and organizes workshops and seminars,
   
• a grant towards the cost of a fixed child care or kindergarten,
   
• a parent-child workroom at the Institute, so you can still work even if child care is not spontaneously available,
   
• Help in arranging childcare and care for the elderly through our partner pme Familenservice.

Career in science at Max Planck. Guide to equal opportunities for career development.

Researchers from our Institute can participate in special funding and mentoring programmes and get involved in networks that support career planning and qualification. The possibilities:

• The mentoring program Mentoring@LMUexcellent,

• regularly announced prizes for young scientists,

• a contingent of W2 positions (formerly Minerva-Program),
   
• the  Lise Meitner excellence program aimed at attracting outstandingly qualified female junior scientists by offering them a long-term perspective.

Read an article about the Sign Up! career building program in Max Planck Research. Link to the PDF.

For parents, there are a number of ways in which Max Planck Society and our institute are involved.

• Parents receive help in finding childcare through our partner pme Familienservice. In addition to childcare, the pme Familienservice also offers eldercare services.

• If certain criteria are met, parents may receive a grant to cover the cost of a fixed place at a nursery or kindergarten.

• Scientists of the Institute who travel to a conference can apply for a grant for childcare.

• For emergency care, for example, if the day-care centre is on strike or the day-care mother suddenly falls ill, members of the Institute may use the backup service of the pme Familienservice.

The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (MPG) and their institutes received the “Work and Family” certificate once again in 2016.

Information on on the Max Planck Society´s central equal opportunities officer.

The Policy against sexualized discrimination, harrassment and violence of the Max Planck Society.

Femmenet, the mentoring program of the Max Planck Society.

Initiative Chefsache, a network of managers from business, science, the public sector and the media who – under the leadership of Angela Merkel – are committed to equal opportunities for women and men

The European Platform of Women Scientists, an international non-profit organisation representing female researchers.

Der Deutsche Frauenrat, an umbrella organisation of more than 50 women’s associations and organisations throughout Germany.

Raisa Sherif holds the post of Equal Opportunity Officer at the Institute.