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International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the gender disparities in university leadership. This article, presenting the latest data and trends in female leadership in EUA member universities in 48 countries*, is part of EUA’s contribution to this important debate.
The proportion of female rectors has increased by 73% over the past eight years according to EUA data. But despite this significant gain, women are still strongly outnumbered by men as university leaders, accounting for less than a fifth in all EUA member universities in 2022.
Nevertheless the situation varies across the continent. In some countries more than 30% of rectors are women, but in others there are currently no female rectors at all among EUA members, although the number of countries where this is the case has been decreasing year on year.
Similarly, there is a trend for more women being appointed as vice-rectors, with the proportion increasing by 24% between 2014 and 2022 according to EUA data. However, they still only represent less than a third of the total in all EUA member universities.
Again, this situation varies across countries. Whereas female vice-rectors are either the majority or have reached parity in ten countries, in others there are none. However, as with female rectors, the number of countries with no women as vice-rectors has steadily decreased in recent years.
When it comes to the numbers of women in senior management, the picture is more balanced. EUA data shows that women currently hold nearly 60% of such positions, however the proportion varies according to the types of department – while women account for 45% of heads of research, they represent over 65% of heads of international offices.
The EUA data reveals that the proportion of women in university leadership positions differs by role. As women move up the career ladder, they become progressively outnumbered by men. The two main bottlenecks for women seem to be achieving full professorship – which in many countries is seen as a prerequisite for top-level positions such as rectors or vice-rectors – and institutional mindsets that resist change.
Despite the progress of the past eight years, it is clear that there is still plenty to be done at the institutional, national and European levels if women are to take their place as equals in the ranks of university leadership.
* The data refers solely to the EUA member universities and is not based on all categories of EUA members.
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The EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Groups gather a selected group of EUA member universities each year to discuss and explore practices and lessons learnt in organising and implementing lea ...
Online courses in Open Science are ready and available for free and anytime, many upon the initiative of doctoral candidates who are engaged in advocacy and dissemination events. As Roberta Moscon fro ...
Europe is an important safe haven for at-risk academics and students. Providing them with support and enabling them to continue their careers is supporting an integral part of European universities’ ...
Equity, diversity and inclusion and belonging (EDIB) are important priorities for universities and are also reflected in their broader contribution to society. At many institutions, EDIB has become f ...
The European Research Area (ERA) reflects the European Commission and EU member states’ ambition to create a single, borderless market for research, innovation and technology across the EU. It was f ...
The regulatory, financial and societal environments in which universities operate are changing at an increasingly fast pace. EUA is dedicated to supporting universities in their efforts to make succes ...
The Bologna Process is an intergovernmental higher education reform process launched in 1999 that includes 48 European countries and a number of European organisations, including EUA. It is dedicated ...
In parallel to well-established European collaboration in higher education within the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area, the European Union is working towards creating a ...
Universities must drive developments in learning and teaching. This requires close collaboration with all major stakeholder groups, including national and European policy makers. In recent decades, n ...
To shape the future that universities want, we must proactively engage with possible futures. The world is changing rapidly. And with it, universities and their contexts are changing. Among the major ...
The missions and work of universities in Europe and elsewhere are underpinned by a number of fundamental values. EUA as an Association strongly believes in and works towards upholding these. The Asso ...