The percentage of women increased in every job category, including among the female associate professors, where there was still a decrease in the previous year. More than half of the graduates at Dutch universities are women (53%). 43.6% of PhD students is female and 41.9% of assistant professors, 29.4% of associate professors is female and 24.2% of the full professors. Despite the growth in each job category, the proportion of women per step on the career ladder is still strongly declining.
In recent years, the average growth in the percentage of female professors has steadily increased, to a peak of 2.2 percentage points growth in 2018, when funds were made available for the appointment of 100 'extra' female full professors, in addition to the target figures set by the universities. A year later this growth decreased to 1.1 percentage points. This shows that specific actions outside the regular appointment processes are needed to create acceleration. In order for these actions not to have a restraining influence in the following years, attention must be paid to promotion through the regular appointment processes.
The percentages of female professors increased at 12 of the 14 universities. Leiden University and the University of Amsterdam saw their percentages of female professors decrease slightly. With 39.9%, the Open University is approaching the 40% female professors, Maastricht University also crosses the threshold of 30% female professors with 30.1% for the first time. Radboud University Nijmegen and Leiden University are well over the 29% female professors. Delft University of Technology finds itself at the bottom of the list with 16.9%.
At the beginning of 2020, the LNVH requested the universities to set targets for the percentages of female professors for the period 2020-2025. The new targets are also one of the first concrete goals of the National Action Plan for Diversity and Inclusion in higher education and research that Minister Van Engelshoven (OCW) launched in September. All 14 universities have responded to the request and have set clear new objectives. If the targets are achieved, not one university will have a percentage of female professors below 25% by 2025. Moreover, at 31.2%, an average of 1 in 3 professors is female for the first time. With these new targets, we will have passed the crucial point of critical mass by 2025.
If the percentages of female professors continue to increase at the same growth rate, we will achieve a proportional m / f distribution among professors by the end of 2041. Last year, this forecast was 2042.
This is a small selection of the findings in the Monitor Women Professors 2020. Download the Monitor for more information about different job categories, salary scales, age, Glass Ceiling Indexes, scientific fields, UMCs and academic management.
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The Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH) is a center of expertise in gender diversity and a lobby and network organization (of over 1400 women associate and full professors), aiming at a proportionate representation of women in academia. To this extend, the LNVH publishes a yearly Women Professors Monitor. The Monitor offers insight into the current ratio of men to women in academia and an overview of the current percentages of male and female professors and in management positions at Dutch academic organizations, university medical centers and other academic organizations. The Monitor forms the foundation for policy measures on gender diversity. It incites action and gives insight into where the obstacles are in the still inadequate flow of women to the top.
