Leiden University has highest ratio of female professors
Leiden University has the highest percentage of female professors of all the Dutch Universities. At 24 per cent, Leiden is well ahead of the other universities in the Netherlands.
Most ambitious
This is the finding of the Monitor on Female Professors 2016 that was presented on 12 December by the National Network of Female Professors. Leiden University is moreover the most ambitious. If the university maintains its present tempo, the ratio will be more than 29 per cent by 2020.
University lecturers
It is encouraging that the percentage of female lecturers is higher than the percentag of female PhD candidates. This percentage makes Leiden University unique in the Netherlands. It shows that the university is taking the appointment of women to tenured academic staff seriously.
Diversity policy
The university has operated an active diversity policy for a number of years, focusing on seeing that more women are appointed to senior scientific positions. All seven faculties set clear goals and monitor progress towards these goals. They scout for female talent within and outside the university, and have a diversity expert in appointment committees or offer mentoring to women scientists who may be able to progress to the top of their field. The new figures indicate that the university is on the right path. The current approach will be continued over the coming years.
Growth is slow
In general, the percentage of female professors in the Netherlands is far from ideal. Only 18 per cent of professors are female and that number is growing only very slowly. More than half of graduates are now female, but by the time of the following stage on the career ladder, the ratio of women falls drastically. It expected to take until 2054 before there is an equal distribution of male to female professors in the Netherlands.