Women professors sound alarm bell

The increase in the number of women at the top of the academic world is not happening fast enough. This is stated in the new Monitor of Women Professors, which was presented on Thursday.

Over the past year, the percentage of female professors has increased by one percent. The Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH) emphasises that this is the smallest growth in the past five years. “It will take until 2041 before an equal distribution of men and women among professors is achieved”, says the network. “This is a year later than last year’s forecast.”

Salary

Furthermore, women appear to be classified lower than their male colleagues: as a result, they receive lower wages. This difference has increased among professors. Moreover, female academics are more likely to have a temporary contract than their male colleagues. This difference is greatest among assistant professors: 4.4 percentage points.

In addition, there is still a glass ceiling. In particular, the transition from assistant professor to associate professor seems to be more difficult for women than for men. In a press release, the LNVH advocates new incentive programmes and the ‘resumption of the focus on the advancement of women’.

Positive signs

However, there are also a few positive signs. According to the monitor, the percentage of female associate professors increased significantly, and there are also more women in academic management.

The percentage of female professors in academic hospitals also increased: from 28 percent in 2021 to 29.7 percent in 2022. There are considerable differences between hospitals. At the VUMC in Amsterdam, 38 percent of the professors are women, compared with 24.2 percent at the Erasmus Medical Center.

Longer term

The university staff figures used by the network were already public. In the somewhat longer term, however, the increase in the proportion of female professors appears to be accelerating. Over the past ten years, the percentage of female professors has increased by 12 percentage points. In the ten years before that, this figure was 8 percentage points.