EQUALITY GUIdE - KU Leuven

106 Equality Guide
This survey was a research initiative of the UGender policy project and was sent to all
staff members of Ghent University in 2006.
4.2. Literature study
Promotion of women at Flemish universities
The underrepresentation of female researchers at universities is often explained by their
relatively late entrance into the academic world, both as students and as staff. One way
to investigate whether the female underrepresentation is ! in part ! just a matter of
time, is to follow up a group of male and female researchers who started their academic
career at the same point in time and look at the male/female ratio within this
group throughout their careers.
Based on data of UGent and K.U.Leuven, the figure below clearly illustrates that there
is in fact a promotion problem for women at these Flemish universities 118 . This figure
shows the entire academic career of men and women who received a master’s degree
in the period 1983/84 ! 1986/87. From the large group of 19.985 graduates (42%
women, 58% men), 2.331 graduates start out as junior researchers in 1984/85 ! 1987/
88. Among these junior researchers 35% are women. Consequently, one may already
notice a shift in the m/f ratio on the first step of the academic ladder. 859 researchers
obtain a PhD degree before January 1998, 28% of whom are women. 294 researchers
receive a senior position (not tenured), 21% are women. Thus, from the total group of
157 academics who finally obtain a senior tenured job, only 19% are women.
The percentage of female students at UGent in 2005/06 is 56%. The proportion of
female graduates that same year is even higher (i.e. 61%). Despite this large pool of
potential female researchers, female senior researchers (i.e. academics with a PhD
degree) and professors are underrepresented in Flemish universities. Women researchers
‘disappear’ on each step of the academic career ladder. In other words, the academic
pipeline leaks. Although some argue that this information is outdated, a recent
follow-up study 119 shows that the declining proportion of women throughout the academic
career continues to exist.
118 Deschrijver, H., Van de Velde, M.C., Van der Beken, H., Page, H., Waege, H., De Leenheer, A.
(UGent), Verlinden, A., Houben, J., Billiet, J., Smedts, D., Vanden Berghe, H., Bouillon, R.
(K.U.Leuven) (2001). Kernelementen doctoreren in Vlaanderen, gebaseerd op het rapport
‘Kwantitatieve analyse van het doctoreren aan de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven en de Universiteit
Gent.
119 Vlaamse Raad voor Wetenschapsbeleid (2006). Doctoreren aan Vlaamse Universiteiten (1991-2002).
Studiereeks 15, VRWB.