Female professors sound the alarm

Female professors sound the alarm

The increase in the number of women at the top of science is not going fast enough. That is the conclusion of the new Monitor Female Professors, presented on Thursday 8 December.

In 2021, the share of female professors increased by 1 per cent. This is the smallest growth in the past five years, stresses the National Network of Female Professors (LNVH). It will take until 2041 to achieve a proportional male-female distribution among professors. At TU Delft, the number of female professors has even declined: from 17.9 per cent in 2020 to 17.7 per cent last year.

Furthermore, women are ranked lower than their male colleagues: they are therefore paid less. Among professors, this difference has increased. Female scientists are also more often on temporary contracts than their male colleagues. Among university lecturers, this difference is the most significant: 4.4 percentage points.

A glass ceiling is also still there. In particular, the step from university lecturer to senior lecturer seems more difficult for women than for men. The LNVH argues for new impulse programmes and “regaining focus on women’s advancement”, their press release states.

Incidentally, there are also a few rays of hope. For instance, the percentage of female associate professors increased significantly, according to the monitor, and there are also more women in academic management.

In the slightly longer term, the increase in the proportion of female professors actually seems to be accelerating. Over the last decade, the percentage of female professors has increased by 12 percentage points. In the decade before, it was 8 percentage points. (HOP, BB).