Number of female professors in Utrecht triples
17 Mar 2008
The number of female professors at Utrecht University in the central Netherlands has tripled over the past ten years.
In 1997 less than 6% of professors at the university was women, in 2007 this percentage had risen to almost 18%. With 37 female professors, Utrecht University ranks second to the University of Amsterdam, said the Chair of the Executive Board, Yvonne van Rooy during a speech she gave on International Women’s Day on 8 March. Ms Van Rooy noted that special action was still needed to bridge the gap between the numbers of men and women in high positions.
Main aims of Utrecht University
Increasing the share of women at the top of the sciences is one of the main aims of Utrecht University. A Mentoring and Coaching programme has been introduced for young female talent in the sciences and the number of participants has doubled to 40 in just a few years. Moreover, since the mid-1980s a women’s network has been active at Utrecht University and it is committed to reducing the under-representation of women. Currently, over half the PhD graduates at Utrecht University is female. Among the university directors and managers too, the share of women at the top (salary scale 16+) has increased: 1 woman to 7 men in 1997 and 3 women to 6 men in 2007.
The exact sciences are no longer a man’s world
The world of exact sciences was regarded for many years as a typical man’s world but this too has shifted at Utrecht University. Ten years ago enrolment of women in bachelor’s degree programmes in the exact sciences rose to 20%. Today, numbers have reached almost 40%.
Glass ceilings not yet shattered
According to Ms Van Rooy, Utrecht University has achieved a great deal in the past ten years but she feels the glass ceiling has not yet been shattered. “We are not doing ourselves justice as Utrecht University if we fail to use our talent even better. There is a lot of female potential out there!”