“The emancipation of women in science is not happening fast enough”

The increase in the number of women at the top of science is not happening fast enough. So says the new Female Professors Monitor, which was introduced today.

Over the last year (2021), the share of female professors has increased by 1%. This is the weakest growth of the last five years, underlines the National Network of Women Teachers (LNVH).

“It will be necessary to wait until 2041 for a proportional distribution between men and women to be reached among the professors”, indicates the network. “That’s a year later than last year’s forecast.”

Salary

Women also appear on a lower scale than their male colleagues: they are therefore less well paid. This difference has increased among teachers. In addition, women scientists are more often on temporary contracts than their male colleagues. The difference is largest among assistant professors: 4.4 percentage points.

A glass ceiling is still there. In particular, the transition from assistant professor to senior lecturer appears more difficult for women than for men. The LNVH advocates new impetus programs and “regaining emphasis on the advancement of women”, according to a press release.

bright spots

Incidentally, there are also some bright spots. For example, the percentage of women associate professors has increased significantly, according to the monitor, and there are also more women in academic management.

The share of female professors in university hospitals has also increased: from 28% in 2021 to 29.7% in 2022. The differences between them are considerable. Of the professors at VUMC in Amsterdam, 38% are women, compared to 24.2% at Erasmus Medical Center.

Long term

University staff figures used by the network have already been made public. In a little longer term, it just seems right go faster with the increase in the proportion of female professors. Over the past ten years, the percentage of female professors has increased by 12 percentage points. In the previous ten years, this figure was 8 percentage points.