TU Delft may not favour women in admissions to courses

TU Delft may not reserve places specifically for women on a popular technical course for the time being. Education minister Rianne Letschert does not want to amend the law, despite advice from the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights.

Relatively few women study for a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. The Delft University of Technology therefore approached the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights to ask whether it could reserve 30 per cent of places for women.

Such a quota would make a direct distinction on the basis of sex. This is only permitted under certain conditions. The Institute thought it was a good idea and advised the education minister to investigate how it could be made possible.

But education minister Rianne Letschert will not do so, she told de Volkskrant. The minister fears a domino effect: there could then be endless discussions about preferential policies. The newspaper cites, for example, the shortage of men in oral health care and students with a migrant background in medicine.

Far-reaching measure

“We share TU Delft’s aim of getting more women into technology”, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science told de Volkskrant. “But the proposed preferential policy is a very far-reaching measure. The amendment would fundamentally change the system.”

The minister wants to look at other options first. The university may therefore not introduce a quota for female students for the time being. The dean of the Delft faculty calls this ‘disappointing and sad’. “This quota is simply necessary for real change.”

Study environment

The proportion of women starting the course has been around twenty per cent for years. TU Delft says that a higher proportion of women would improve the ‘study environment’: current female students regularly face prejudice and sexist jokes.

The university already tried to introduce a preferential policy for women two years ago, but was rebuked by the Education Inspectorate.