The number of female professors at Dutch universities has increased by 1 percent over the past year. This is the lowest growth percentage of the five past years, according to the 2022 Monitor of Women Professors.
The Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH), which performs the study every year, is very alarmed. Last year, there was cause for celebration because a quarter of all professors was female, but this year, universities will have to pull out all the stops if they want to reach the average goal of 30 percent by 2025.
Average
With a growth percentage of 1.2 percent, Groningen is average. But last year, the UG’s population of female professors increased by 3.2 percent, making the university one of two frontrunners. Currently, 27.6 percent of professors at the UG are female. This is the first time the university has exceeded its 2020 goal of 27 percent.
That same year, the university increased its 2025 goal from 30 to 33 percent. Whether it’ll succeed remains to be seen, says the LNVH. According to the Monitor, nine of the fourteen universities will not reach their goal if they continue at this speed. The UG is one of those nine. If it continues at the current tempo, it will stagnate at 32.5 percent in 2025.
This year’s Monitor also shows that men and women at the university still receive unequal remuneration. Female academics in all positions are more often employed temporarily. Female academics also have fewer contract hours on average and receive a lower pay grade than men.
Breeding ground
The LNVH is worried about the current situation. ‘The real world has shown that these future milestones may not be easily reached’, the Monitor reads. The LNVH argues that universities should ‘once again focus on promoting women. We call on them to explore extra impulse programmes, either sector wide or per institute’.
Nevertheless, the LNVH sees opportunities to turn the tide. While there might be a limited rise in full professors, there’s been a ‘significant increase’ in the number of female associate professors. Next year will see a large exodus of male professors who are retiring. ‘That means there are opportunities to appoint women in these positions.’