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UM: sharpest rise in the number of female professors

The highest increase in the number of female professors is at Maastricht University (UM), according to the Women Professors Monitor 2019, presented on Thursday. With a growth rate of 5.2%, UM is far above the average rate of 2.2%. The percentage of female professors in Maastricht now stands at 29.7%, earning UM a shared second place in the rankings together with Leiden University. With these figures, UM has more than achieved the targets for 2020.

Rector Magnificus Rianne Letschert is delighted. “I am proud of these results; we are the fastest growing university in terms of the number of female professors. The discussions we had with our faculties took place in a constructive atmosphere and led to this result. Continuous dialogue helps! One professor recently told me that 'because you keep talking about it, we are even discussing the issue at the coffee machine'. That is beautiful! Let’s continue on this track, bearing in mind that we’re not only focused on the number of female professors but on a more diverse and inclusive university in general."

Under one in four professors is female

Continued positive action is necessary, because we are not there yet. 23.1% of all professors in the Netherlands are women, that’s just under one in four. This means that there is still a large overrepresentation of men within the highest echelons of science, putting the Netherlands in 24th position among 28 EU countries. ‘Landelijk Netwerk Vrouwelijke Hoogleraren’, which releases the monitor every year, predicts that it will take until 2042 before equal participation will be achieved.

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