LNVH presents the 2024 Women Professors Monitor

9 December, 2024

LNVH WOMEN PROFESSORS MONITOR 2024 

• No more record lows: growth in percentage of women professors shows slight acceleration
• Marginal increase in the proportion of women professors at universities; targets are not met
• Ongoing increase in the proportion of women associate professors
• Percentage of women professors at UMCs surpasses the 30% threshold for the first time
• Replacement potential for retiring professors in the highest age group exceeds 100%

From alarmingly slow growth to still limited progress
The percentage of women professors at Dutch universities has reached 28.7%, according to the Women Professors Monitor 2024, presented by the Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH) on 9 December. This marks a 1.1 percentage point increase from the previous year’s 27.6%, slightly below the ten-year average growth rate of 1.2 percentage points. At the current three-year growth rate, gender parity among professors is not expected before 2044.

Proportion of women decreases at each step of the career ladder
The proportion of women, particularly in higher academic positions, continues to drop significantly with each successive career stage. However, as of the end of 2023, all categories - from students to professors - show a slight increase in the overall share of women. Women account for just over half of both students (51.7%) and graduates (54.6%). Yet their representation diminishes at the subsequent academic levels. After graduation, where women comprise 54.6%, the proportion falls to 45.7% among PhD candidates. Among assistant professors, there is a slight increase to 46.9%, but this is followed by a sharp decline: the proportion of women drops to 35.4% among associate professors and further decreases to just 28.7% at the professor level.

Moderate growth in the percentage of women professors across nearly all universities
Between the end of 2022 and the end of 2023, 13 out of 14 universities saw an increase in the share of women professors. The only exception was Erasmus University Rotterdam, where the proportion decreased slightly by 0.2 percentage points. Growth varied widely, from a marginal 0.1 percentage point at Maastricht University to a more notable 2.1 percentage points at Tilburg University. By the end of 2023, seven universities reported over 30% women professors, up from five in 2022. Tilburg University and the University of Amsterdam exceeded the 30% threshold for the first time. The Open University (42.6%), first in the ranking, is followed by Maastricht University (36.1%) and Leiden University (32%). Delft University of Technology continues to trail, rising slightly from 18.1% in 2022 to 18.9% in 2023

Sector-wide target unlikely to be achieved
In early 2020, LNVH called on universities to set targets for women professors for the 2020 - 2025 period. Meeting these targets would ensure that by 2025 no university has fewer than 25% women professors and that, on average, 31.2% of professors would be women. To date, only four universities - Erasmus University Rotterdam, Tilburg University, the Open University, and the University of Amsterdam - have achieved their 2025 targets and are setting new goals. Based on current growth rates, eight universities are not on track to meet their targets, an increase from six last year. The sector-wide average target of 31.2% women professors is also unlikely to be met.

Replacement potential exceeds 100%
The Monitor reaffirms that the (long) anticipated substantial exit of men in the 60+ age category is continuing. This, combined with the more-than-sufficiently filled talent pool, offers exceptional prospects for the future. Without differentiation by academic discipline, more than 100% (=105.3%) of the anticipated outflow of professors can be replaced by women associate professors. This means the replacement potential has increased by 7.9 percentage points within a year.

Women still more likely to have temporary contracts
By the end of 2023, an increase in the share of permanent contracts for both men and women is once again evident. This increase is particularly notable among assistant professors over the past two years, from the end of 2021 to the end of 2023. For women assistant professors, this represents an increase of 16.4 percentage points, from 67.2% at the end of 2021 to 83.6% at the end of 2023. Among male assistant professors, the increase was 13.5 percentage points, from 71.6% to 85.1% over the same period. However, in all job categories, women still slightly more often hold temporary contracts compared to their male colleagues.

Women in lower salary scales. Women professors younger
The disparity in salary scales between women and men professors remains significant. However, among associate professors and assistant professors, the differences in distribution across salary scale categories are minimal. For PhD candidates, the salary scale classification for women and men was identical at the end of 2023.

For associate professors and PhD candidates, the average scope in employment contract remained unchanged for both men and women compared to the end of 2022. Among assistant professors, there was a slight increase in the average scope of the employment contract for both genders over the same period. For professors, the average scope of the employment contract for men increased slightly, while it remained stable for women. On average, women academics still have a slightly smaller scope of the employment contract compared to their male counterparts, except in the case of professors, where women have a slightly larger scope than men: 0.88 FTE compared to 0.85 FTE.

At the end of 2023, there was a notable decline in the number of male professors under the age of 60, while the number of women professors in this age category increased. As a result, the average age of women professors is now even younger compared to their male counterparts than in the previous year.

Proportion of international academic staff continues to increase
For the third consecutive year, the Monitor reports on the composition of academic staff concerning their origin. This provides insight into the gender distribution among academic staff with an international background, offering relevant information for tailoring policies related to gender equality.

This year, we observe a slight increase in the proportion of academic staff with an international background across all job categories. Notably, the proportion of international staff decreases significantly with higher academic ranks, from 56.1% among PhD candidates to 23.6% among professors.

The proportion of academic staff with a non-European background drops from 25.7% among PhD candidates to 14.9% among assistant professors, 7.1% among associate professors, and 3.5% among professors. The gap between PhD candidates and professors has widened slightly, from 22 percentage points at the end of 2022 to 22.4 percentage points at the end of 2023.

Among professors, associate professors, and assistant professors, a higher percentage of women than men have an international background. Among PhD candidates, the proportion of men and women with an international background is equal.

UMCs: Women professors surpass 30% for the first time
The percentage of women professors at University Medical Centers (UMCs) increased from 29.8% in 2023 to 31.6% in 2024, an increase of 1.8 percentage points. This marks the first time since UMC figures were included in the Monitor that the proportion of women professors has surpassed the 30% threshold. At all UMCs - except for the UMC Groningen (UMCG) - the share of women professors grew between 2023 and 2024. At UMCG, the percentage remained stable at 31.3%.

Governance and supervision
Examining the Executive Boards of universities, we observe a 4.9 percentage point increase in the proportion of women, bringing it to 48.4%. In contrast, the representation of women on Supervisory Boards has declined compared to last year, now standing at 46.5%.

In the governance and supervision of University Medical Centers (UMCs), the share of women has grown. This increase is particularly notable on Executive Boards, where the proportion of women increased significantly from 34.4% last year to 44.8% this year. However, the trend on Supervisory Boards remains downward, with the percentage of women falling to 45.9%. Achieving gender parity in this area remains out of reach for now.

Among deans, the percentage of women continues to climb, reaching 35.2%. In previous years, the share of women among research institute directors showed a decline. This year, however, marks a milestone: for the first time, one in three directors of research institutes is a woman. For educational institute directors, where women’s representation has traditionally been higher, the proportion of women has now increased to 57.9%.

In conclusion
We are pleased to announce that this Monitor is againg more extensive than its previous editions. This year, we have expanded the data display with information about the institutes of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Alongside the earlier addition of data about the composition of international academic staff, we can now offer an even more detailed picture of the sector.

However, we call on institutions to continue monitoring areas that the LNVH cannot report on in detail. This includes the state of affairs on faculty level, where the representation of women is sometimes alarmingly low. It also pertains to targeted reporting on pay disparities, an intersectional approach to data, and the lack of longitudinal data that could provide more insights into the actual inflow, career progression, and outflow of women. We remain committed to expanding the possibilities for comprehensive data display.

Finally, we must acknowledge that this Monitor is being published in a different political landscape and under financial conditions distinct from those during the release of the previous Monitor. Dark clouds are gathering over the sector, with proposed budget cuts of 1 billion euros in higher education and research threatening to become a reality.

This means that issues such as diversity and inclusion, and attention to gender equality, are under increasing pressure. People in precarious positions, often women - as this Monitor again highlights - are particularly vulnerable.

The Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH) opposes the budget cuts and disputes their necessity and legitimacy, believing that they can still be resisted or mitigated. Simultaneously, we urge the entire sector to remain vigilant about the position of women within institutions, to actively maintain focus on existing policies, to ensure that attention to these issues remains on the administrative agendas and decision-making tables, and to preserve the available resources, FTEs, and support for talent retention. All this is in the hope that we can prevent a potential decline and present, albeit against all odds, positive developments in future Monitors.

Caspar van den Berg, president of the Universities of the Netherlands in response:

"It is encouraging to see that there is ample replacement potential among women academics to fill the anticipated outflow of predominantly male professors, and that women are increasingly stepping into executive board positions. However, the Monitor clearly highlights that we still have a long way to go to achieve true gender parity in academia."

Read and download the Women Professors Monitor 2024 here.
Klik hier om dit bericht in het Nederlands te lezen. 

About the Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH)

The Dutch Network of Women Professors (Landelijk Netwerk Vrouwelijke Hoogleraren, LNVH) is a networking, knowledge, and advocacy organization with over 1,600 affiliated women associate professors and professors. The LNVH is committed to achieving proportional representation of women in academia, improving the position of women academics from all backgrounds and disciplines, and fostering an inclusive and safe academic environment where equal pay is the norm.

For further information or interview requests, please contact:

Drs. Lidwien Poorthuis, Landelijk Netwerk Vrouwelijke Hoogleraren, phone: 06-15207225, email: poorthuis@lnvh.nl.