2001/2002 

• The university-wide Institute for Women's and Gender Studies (IFG) is established at the JKU on May 18, 2001. As the first institute of its kind in the Austrian university landscape, its mission is to drive research and education in this field forward, as well as implement a gender-specific curriculum in all majors offered at the JKU.

• Three out of the four female professors working at the JKU at this time take on an active role at the IFG as a result of secondary assignments: historian Gabriella Hauch (responsible for running the institute), legal expert Ursula Floßmann, and computer scientist Gertrude Kappel.

• Gudrun Salmhofer is also appointed to the Office for the Advancement of Women located directly at the Rectorate in 2001.

• Together with the AKG, the Student Union Women's Office, and the PR Office, the Office for the Advancement of Women publishes the university's first "Guidelines for the Use of Gender-Friendly Language" at the JKU in 2001.

• The 2002 Universities Act stipulates gender equality as a guiding principle and a responsibility at universities. Each university is required to implement a "department to oversee the coordination of gender equality, the advancement of women, and gender research". The Office of Gender Equality and the IFG assume this role at the JKU.

• To meet the demand of an Austria-wide, inter-university network, these new university departments join forces in 2002 to launch the "Gender Platform".

• The JKU launches an hourly, flexible childcare program for children of students and employees on campus in 2002 with funding provied by the Ministry and the European Social Fund. The Office for the Advancement of Women manages the program.

• Published by a "Network for Women at the JKU", the "Johanna" magazine debuts in 2002. The magazine introduces projects to support the advancement of women, provides information about corresponding events, publishes interviews featuring women working at the JKU, and explains terminology, such as "gender mainstreaming". The last issue is published in 2009.

2003/2004

• The Institute for Women's and Gender Studies is allocated a full professorship position in 2003 and Gabriella Hauch is appointed to the position.

• "Karriere_links", a joint program organized together with the University of Salzburg to support junior female academics and bring them together, is launched in 2003, offering professional development seminars to women doctoral and post-doctoral candidates.

• Beginning in 2003, the Upper Austrian "Cross Mentoring" program is an opportunity to support the next generation of female managers in administration.

• The JKU's new Plan for the Advancement of Women (FFP) is published in 2004, stipulating that the proportion of female employees in all areas at the university should be 40%. Areas that do not meet this quota are subsequently considered "areas for the advancement of women". The FFP not only requires a mandatory written annual report for statistical surveys, it also introduces "gender-aware education" (teaching content in gender education studies) as mandatory for all curricula.

• In 2004, the JKU joins the newly established cross-university network "UniKid" under the "Kinderbüro" and family service centers.

2005/2006

• In 2005, Rector Rudolf Ardelt and Gabriele Kepplinger (head of the Department for the Advancement of Women), initiate the "JKU Goes Gender" program. Funding provided by the Ministry of Science helps to further advance the university's profile by financing programs to support women, scholarships for junior female researchers, and growing the Institute for Women's and Gender Studies as well as the "Kinderbüro".

• In 2005, the "Get aHead" progam is launched sponsored by the Upper Austrian government to provide support services for women engineers searching for internships and writing their final theses, and also encourages a greater acceptance of women working in the field of engineering and technology.

• Beginning in 2005 (and to date), the JKU has been actively involved in the annual Girls' Day program organized by the Upper Austrian goverment, designed to get girls interested in the areas of engineering and technology.

• The JKU commissions two gender equality evaluations in 2006: The Austrian Quality Assurance Agency (AQA) was commissioned by the Federal Ministry to investigate practices regarding gender equality and the advancement of women at Austrian universities. Together with a gender expert, the JKU draws up a "gender equality report" based on statistical evaluations and interviews.

2007/2008

• The Office for the Advancement of Women initiates a "Gender Mainstreaming Pilot Project" in 2007 to encourage and support the introduction of gender mainstreaming at two selected university institutions.

• The JKU appoints its first female Vice-Rector in 2007: computer scientist Gabriele Kotsis. She takes over the agendas related to research, the advancement of women, and policies to support equal opportunities.

• In 2007, only 8% of the 112 professors at the JKU are women. In 2008, the percentage of female faculty is approximately 25% (based on the number of teaching hours by gender). Among a total of 12,600 students, women make up 47% of the student body.

2009

• In 2009, the TEquality Advisory Board assembles to improve the "conditions conducive to success" at the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences - particularly for women students. The board organizes preparation courses, for example, to help students prepare for their studies.

• The post-graduate program "Management and Leadership for Women" islaunched in 2009 as an initiative by the Women's Committee (city of Linz) and the Institute for Women's and Gender Studies (JKU), under the academic leadership of JKU Assistant Professor Cäcilia Innreiter-Moser.

• The Department of Equal Opportunities publishes new guidelines for gender-neutral language in 2009.

• Since 2009, the Gender & Diversity Report is published regularly (annually since 2016) and serves as a basis to monitor and implement additional policies in the area of advancement for women, equality, and diversity (Issue 2021 [pdf], opens an external URL in a new window).