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More women as department heads

30/01/2026

Significant progress has been made towards greater equality in management positions.

For the first time, five of a total of twelve departments are headed by women.Verena Dorner, Business Analytics and Decision Sciences, Claudia Fuchs, Public Law and Tax Law, Isabella Grabner, Strategy and Innovation, Gerlinde Mautner, Business Communication, and Renate Meyer, Management (in alphabetical order), took over the management of the five departments on 1 January 2026.

5 Departmentvorständinnen

from left to right: Verena Dorner, Claudia Fuchs, Isabella Grabner, Gerlinde Mautner, Renate Meyer

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This brings the proportion of women in these key academic leadership positions to around 42% – a significant increase compared to the years 2015–2025, when the proportion of women ranged between 0 and 25%.

This progress is the result of the joint efforts of many women at WU and the continuous development of organisational processes. Feedback from female professors has provided important impetus, for example for more transparent information on tasks, processes and requirements. At the same time, communication has been changed to specifically encourage potential candidates to take on the leadership of a department.

A big thank you to our new department chairs, who are actively shaping the future of WU with their commitment and hard work!

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