Glass ceiling
Women in charge at six out of fourteen research universities
Annetje Ottow, President of Leiden University, who used to be vice-president at Utrecht University. The picture was taken back when she was still working at UU. Photo by Arnoud Mooij.
The glass ceiling seems to have all but disappeared among executive boards in Dutch higher education. It used to be less customary for women to participate in those boards, but a lot of women have made their way to the top of Dutch higher education.
Out of fourteen research universities in the Netherlands, six have a woman occupying the role of president. The same number has a woman in the position of rector. In total, university boards are comprised of 19 women and 22 men. Two of the eight male presidents simultaneously hold the rectorship.
Out of 36 universities of applied sciences, eighteen have a woman as their president. Exactly fifty-fifty. But, considering the other members, equality hasn’t been accomplished yet: there are sixteen women and thirty men, including a few interim board members.
Other countries
Compared to other countries, the Netherlands fares quite well when it comes to the number of women in boardrooms. British education journal Times Higher Education looked at the top 200 universities in its world ranking and counted fifty women presidents. That’s one quarter.
Out of the 56 top-tier American universities, fifteen have a woman as their chief executive (27 percent). The same goes for nine out of twenty-five British universities (36 percent).
