More women than men obtained PhD at Dutch universities for first time

In the past academic year, 2,612 women and 2,607 men obtained their doctorate at a Dutch university - the first time ever more Ph. D.s were awarded to women than men, NOS reports based on figures from Statistics Netherlands.

The total number of Ph. D.s and the proportion of women among candidates have been increasing for years. In the 1990/1991 academic year, there were just under 1,900 doctorates, and less than 18 percent of them went to some. In 1999, the proportion of women rose above 30 percent for the first time. It exceeded 40 percent in 2003. Between 2013 and 2020, the percentage of women fluctuated between 47 and 49 percent. 

Most doctorates, 38 percent, were awarded in the field of study "healthcare and welfare" in the past academic year. Many women work in this sector. And 60 percent of doctorates in this field went to women. Women were also in the majority in the arts and social sciences fields. Only in science studies are men still strongly overrepresented. Just under 38 percent of Ph. D.s in this field went to women.

Among other university staff, the ratio between men and women is far from equal. Last year, the proportion of women among professors at Dutch universities topped 25 percent for the first time. A doctorate is an essential step for those who aspire to a further university career and thus the breeding ground for future university lecturers and professors. The average age of a Ph.D. student is now 29.5 years, and the average age of a professor when appointed is 49. So it could take years before the Ph.D. ratio is reflected in the number of appointed professors.