UN wants priority for women in Dutch education, which AE previously failed to achieve

In a new report by the United Nations, experts have assessed the implementation of the UN Women’s Convention in eight different countries, including the Netherlands. Among other things, they call on the Netherlands to combat forced prostitution more effectively and to legalise abortion in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

Positive discrimination

The Netherlands could also do more to help women advance in higher education. The UN would like to see positive discrimination made possible in programmes that select students upon admission, particularly those in which women are in the minority. Currently, the Higher Education and Scientific Research Act prohibits this.

This became painfully clear when the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering (AE) announced a preferential policy for female first-year students in January 2024. The faculty wanted to select 30 per cent female students from the 2024-2025 academic year onwards. Normally, an average of 20 per cent women were admitted. In order to address this imbalance, the faculty decided in early 2024 to introduce a preferential policy.

Hope at AE

The decision led to much discussion, which also reached the Education Inspectorate. The Inspectorate subsequently called AE to order. The plan was simply not permitted by law. Director of Education Joris Melkert responded with disappointment and said he hoped that a new cabinet would make something possible after all. Now that we have another cabinet, it is AE Dean Henri Werij who is responding with hope. On LinkedIn, he tagged the new Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Rianne Letschert. He wrote that he sincerely hopes that she will ‘take up the recommendation of the UN committee’.

Technical studies have the UN’s support in any case. The committee points out that there are still few women studying science and technical subjects. The Netherlands should therefore make extra efforts to interest women in these subjects. The campaigns that the Netherlands has been running in this area for years (such as Girls’ Day) have apparently not had sufficient effect.

Support for pregnant students

The researchers also state that pregnant students do not receive the same level of support everywhere; some educational institutions offer better support than others. Education is also still not accessible enough for women and girls with disabilities.

The last time the Netherlands was assessed on the basis of the Women’s Convention was ten years ago. The Netherlands is now requested to respond within two years and demonstrate that it will take concrete steps to address these issues.

HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff / Delta, Saskia Bonger