Scenes such as this one, of the opening ceremony of a Dutch academic year, might become more common if the 'Lisbon target' of 25% female faculty in European universities is ever achieved. European research ministers set this 2010 goal, now looking unlikely, in June 2000.
But this particular ceremony is staged. Petra Rudolf, a professor and materials scientist at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, chivvied 35 of the university's 50 female professors into showing up at the opening ceremony of the new academic year on 4 September. Rudolf's whip pushed the gender ratio of those in gowns to more than a quarter.
“The men seemed, shall we say, to feel the difference,” laughs Rudolf, “and they were not entirely comfortable.” But they'll have some time to get used to it. The university expects to increase female faculty from 10%, the Dutch average, to 15% by 2010.
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Abbott, A. Women at work. Nature 443, 131 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/443131a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/443131a
