The HFBK’s delegate for equality coordinates the work of the Konferenz der lehrenden Frauen (conference of women as teachers), which meets regularly during the semester. Every three years, she presents the Präsidium with an overview of the current state of implementation of the policy for supporting women at the HFBK. She both supports and assesses the University’s measures on equality. She is especially closely involved in decisions on structure and on personnel, as well as the University’s development planning.

The delegate for equality is to be involved in policies concerning the advancement of women and plans for supporting women. During appointment and staff hiring selection procedures she ensures that, given an equal level of qualification, women are appointed in preference to men.

The delegate for equality is elected by the University Senate for a term of three years. Most recently, the delegate for equality were elected by the University Senate in November 2020 in accordance with §10 Grundordnung HFBK: Prof. Dr. Anja Steidinger, Prof. Heike Mutter.

The University delegate for equality

• has a right to speak and make applications to all self-administration panels and is to be invited and informed as a member would be.
• has a right to comment on all University organs and a right of objection.

The University is represented by its delegate for equality externally on the following self-administration panels:

• LaKoG (Landeskonferenz der Gleichstellungsbeauftragten der Hamburger Hochschulen / state conference of delegates to Hamburg universities for equality)
• BuKoF (Bundeskonferenz der Frauenbeauftragten und Gleichstellungsbeauftragten an Hochschulen / federal conference of delegates to universities for equality)

In the CEWS University Ranking 2019 according to gender aspects, the HFBK Hamburg took the top spot (together with the KMH Cologne, ranking group 1). For this, 44 art and music universities in Germany were evaluated. The university ranking of GESIS - Leibniz-Instituts für Sozialwissenschaften provides statistical information on the state of equal opportunities for women and men in universities, universities of applied sciences and universities of art and music. In the CEWS University Ranking 2021, the HFBK Hamburg was placed in Ranking Group 3 in the overall evaluation of art and music universities, although it still ranks among the top group in Germany for the indicators of the proportion of women in professorships and the proportion of women among academic and artistic staff. In comparison with Hamburg's non-artistic higher education institutions, the proportion of women among the teaching staff at the HFBK Hamburg is remarkably high: 47 percent among the artistic and scientific staff (compared to 45.5 percent on average in Hamburg) and 39 percent among professors (compared to 29.0 percent on average in Hamburg).