At the end of 2020, the percentage of female professors at universities in the Netherlands is 25.7%. That is an increase of 1.5 percentage points compared to the end of 2019, when the percentage was 24.2. For the first time in history, the percentage of female professors in the Netherlands rises above the 25%, which means 1 in 4 professors is female. An important milestone on the road to reaching the critical mass tipping point. We have also reached a milestone among female associate professors: with an increase from 27.5% to 30.4%, the 30% threshold is passed for the first time. Curious about the other milestones? You’ll find them highlighted in the Monitor.
While we are seeing an increase in the share of women in every job category, the proportion of women still declines with every step on the academic career ladder. Among students, the proportion of women (50.6%) is slightly larger than the proportion of men. At 53.5%, the proportion of women among graduates is even higher than among students. The drop in the proportion of women in the PhD position category to 44.4% is all the more striking. Per successive job category, the percentage of women decreases from 43.5% assistant professors, to 30.4% female associate professors and 25.7% female professors.
Between the end of 2019 and the end of 2020, the percentage of female professors increased at all universities. The increase varies from 0.1 percentage point at Radboud University Nijmegen to 3.5 percentage points at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Four universities have now passed the 30% female professor threshold: the Open University, Maastricht University, Radboud University Nijmegen and Leiden University. The Open University is the first university to exceed the 40% female professor threshold. This year, the Delft University of Technology closes the ranks with 17.9% female professors, which makes it the only university that has not yet reached the threshold of 20% female professors.
At the end of 2020, there are 3 universities that have not (yet) reached the 2020 target for female professors. Last year, at LNVH’s request, new target figures have been set for 2025. If the target figures are reached, by 2025 no university will have a percentage of female professors below 25%. Moreover, at an average percentage of 31.2, 1 in 3 professors will be female. Based on the growth rate at the end of 2019-2020, 8 of the 14 universities will reach their 2025 target by the end of 2025. Are these targets ambitious enough? And what happens if you base the prognosis on the period end-2016 – end-2020, including the effect of the Westerdijk Talent Impulse? Please find the answers to these questions – and more - in the 2021 Monitor.
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 2040. Last year, this forecast was 2041.
In 2001 the LNVH became an official foundation. In that year the percentage of female professors was a shockingly low 6.5%. Particularly in the past 5 years, the percentage of female professors has increased significantly, to 25.7% at the end of 2020. In the past years, LNVH’s focus has also shifted from increasing the percentages of female professors, to attention for proportionality in the entire pipeline and changing academic culture into a more inclusive community. This year the LNVH is celebrating its 20th anniversary. What are the striking developments in the past 20 years? Download our poster with the highlights. Would you like to receive printed copy of the Monitor and/or the poster? Please send an email to info@lnvh.nl.
This is a small selection of the findings in the Monitor Women Professors 2021. Download the Monitor for more information about different job categories, salary scales, age, fixed and temporary contracts, Glass Ceiling Indexes, scientific fields, UMCs and academic management.
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monitor 2021
poster 20 years
graphs 2021
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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 1500 affiliated women associate and full professors. LNVH aims to promote equal representation of women in academia, works towards the betterment of the position of women academics of all backgrounds and pushes for an inclusive and safe academic community. 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 in management positions at Dutch universities, 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 higher echelons of Dutch academia.
