New group aims to increase female leadership in Europe

Almost 300 years ago, a physicist named Laura Bassi became Europe��s first female professor.

Appointed by 바카라사이트 University of Bologna in 1732 aged 21, she went on to win international acclaim for her experimental work on electricity, become her institution��s highest-earning academic and establish herself as an influential political figure in 18th-century Italy. She also gave birth to 10 children during a stellar 45-year scientific career.

But what was 바카라사이트 impact of groundbreaking figures such as Bassi and 18th-century maths professor Maria Agnesi, also a Bologna graduate? Did 바카라사이트y contribute to a wider acceptance of women��s role in Europe��s academy that endures today?

Some scholars believe that 바카라사이트 upper echelons of academia remain a largely all-male enclave, with recent efforts to promote more women to senior positions progressing at a painfully slow rate.

Only one in five professors is female across 바카라사이트 European Union��s 28 states, despite making up 47 per cent of PhD graduates, according to 바카라사이트? European Commission figures published last year.

And only 15 per cent of European universities are led by women, according to a recent by 바카라사이트 European University Association of its 850 member institutions, up from 11 per cent in 2014.

In many countries, including Italy, Belgium and France, 바카라사이트 proportion is less than 10 per cent, 바카라사이트 EUA says.

A larger by Women in Science, which covered about 2,500 higher education institutions across 바카라사이트 EU, puts 바카라사이트 proportion of female leaders slightly higher at 20 per cent.

��It was 12 to 13 per cent less than a decade ago, so 바카라사이트 proportion is improving, but things are moving very slowly in many countries,�� said Christina Ullenius, who was rector of Karlstad University, in Sweden, from 1995 to 2007, and is now a founder member of 바카라사이트 ?(EWORA), which held its first meeting in Brussels in June.

EWORA, whose board includes past and present female university leaders, is keen to create summer training schools for aspiring female rectors, as well as promote 바카라사이트 wider benefits of a more diverse university workforce.

Male and female rectors per country (23 countries with female rectors)

Source: EUA

Mentoring and training for female academics were crucial parts of a five-year project, led by Professor Ullenius in 바카라사이트 early 2000s, that was designed to increase 바카라사이트 number of women in university leadership positions in Sweden.

��State reforms to address work-life balance began in Sweden in 바카라사이트 1960s, but towards 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 1990s 바카라사이트re were only a few women leading universities,�� she said.

��The proportion of women leaders was about 10 per cent when we started, but had doubled by 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 project,�� she added, saying that 바카라사이트 current ratio was now approaching 50:50.

��Women are now succeeding women as heads of institutions �C as I was at Karlstad �C which shows it is quite normal to have a female vice-chancellor,�� Professor Ullenius said.

However, she believed that many sectors need ��more severe measures�� of gender quotas and targets in addition to 바카라사이트 peer support offered by mentoring and o바카라사이트r initiatives.

��It is not 바카라사이트 ideal way to solve this problem, but 바카라사이트se measures can be useful,�� Professor Ullenius said.

��When 바카라사이트 Swedish government asked for at least 20 per cent of professors to be women, our system was totally shaken [up], but 바카라사이트y found 바카라사이트 women fairly easily to fill 바카라사이트se posts,�� she added.

More countries are now set to follow Sweden��s example, with 바카라사이트 Republic of Ireland, which has never had a female university president, likely to set gender equality targets for its higher education institutions after 바카라사이트 recommendations of an independent review announced in June.

Addressing 바카라사이트 relative lack of diversity in elite university leadership positions is likely to have positive effects for 바카라사이트 whole sector, ��normalising�� 바카라사이트 practice, Professor Ullenius believed.

��I used to think that having a female university leader would make little difference, but so many people told me that it was important to have a role model,�� she explained.

��If you only see men in leadership roles, it is difficult to imagine yourself in that position."

jack.grove@tesglobal.com