Relatively large number of female professors at Leiden University
Leiden has the second-highest percentage of female professors of all the Dutch universities. These are the results of the annual Women Professors Monitor. The Open University is the only university with more female professors.
The monitor shows that at present, 29.7% of the professors at Leiden University are women. This is an increase of 2.5 percentage points in comparison with 2018. Leiden University is thus well above the average percentage for all universities, which this year is 23.1%.
Highest measured increase
The percentage of female professors in the Netherlands as a whole increased by 2.2 percentage points in comparison with the Monitor from 2018. This is the highest measured increase since the Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH) has been keeping records. The considerable increase in the number of female professors is in part due to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’s Westerdijk Talent Scheme, which was responsible for the appointment of an additional 100 professors in the space of one year.
Target figures
In 2015, the Dutch universities came up with target figures for the number of female professors by 2020. This was to speed up the career progression of female academics. Leiden University’s aim was for 27% of its professors to be female by 2020. This goal has already been achieved.
Concerns about senior lecturers
The LNVH is concerned about the number of female senior lecturers, the highest academic post after that of professor. The percentage of female senior lecturers decreased in 2018. This appears to be a direct effect of the rapid increase in the percentage of female professors brought about by the Westerdijk Talent Scheme. The depleted pool of female senior lecturers now requires attention, writes the LNVH, and it thus calls on the universities to keep a good eye on the career progression of female academics.