Share of women amongst doctorate holders in the Netherlands
In short
- Since 1991, the proportion of women with a doctorate degree has increased. In 2024 the share of women with a doctorate degree is higher than that of men for the second time in a row.
- The percentage of women with a PhD has increased in the science and medical clusters of scientific fields.
- In 2024 the medical cluster has the largest share of female PhDs.
What does the share of female PhDs in the Netherlands look like?
| Percentage women | |
| '91 | 17,9 |
| '92 | 19,9 |
| '93 | 19,8 |
| '94 | 23,2 |
| '95 | 23,8 |
| '96 | 27,5 |
| '97 | 27,5 |
| '98 | 29 |
| '99 | 30,1 |
| '00 | 32,5 |
| '01 | 31,6 |
| '02 | 38,6 |
| '03 | 41,1 |
| '04 | 39,5 |
| '05 | 38,1 |
| '06 | 38,7 |
| '07 | 41,8 |
| '08 | 41,7 |
| '09 | 41,6 |
| '10 | 42,1 |
| '11 | 43,8 |
| '12 | 44,9 |
| '13 | 46,2 |
| '14 | 47,3 |
| '15 | 49,1 |
| '16 | 48,7 |
| '17 | 47,9 |
| '18 | 48,1 |
| '19 | 47,4 |
| '20 | 49,7 |
| '21 | 50 |
| '22 | 49,9 |
| '23 | 51,8 |
| '24 | 51,9 |
Analysis
The share of women in the total number of new doctorate holders shows a steady increase over time from 19.9% in 1991 and 30.1% in 1999 to 49.1% in 2015. After years of increase, however, the share drops slightly from 2016 onwards to 47.4% in 2019. In 2020, the percentage has increased again to 49.7%. In 2024 the share of women (51.9%) has surpassed that of men for the second time in a row.
In which cluster of scientific fields have women obtained their doctorate?
| Humanities | Science | Social | Medical | |
| '91 | 20 | 10,7 | 24,6 | 24 |
| '92 | 25,9 | 12,5 | 26,9 | 25,5 |
| '93 | 26,9 | 12,7 | 26,1 | 25,2 |
| '94 | 35,4 | 16,2 | 27,3 | 27,7 |
| '95 | 31,3 | 17,8 | 27,8 | 28,9 |
| '96 | 36,8 | 17,7 | 35,3 | 35,6 |
| '97 | 31,3 | 19,3 | 31,5 | 37,9 |
| '98 | 31,5 | 17,4 | 34,1 | 43,3 |
| '99 | 37,9 | 22,6 | 32,5 | 37,9 |
| '00 | 42,2 | 24 | 36,7 | 39,4 |
| '01 | 32,6 | 23 | 37,2 | 41,8 |
| '02 | 47 | 25,1 | 36,6 | 45,8 |
| '03 | 41 | 28,5 | 43,4 | 42,2 |
| '04 | 44 | 29,3 | 37,5 | 44 |
| '05 | 46,4 | 27,3 | 43,6 | 49 |
| '06 | 39,6 | 27,3 | 43,6 | 50,8 |
| '07 | 42,9 | 29,8 | 48,6 | 53,1 |
| '08 | 40,9 | 31,4 | 47,1 | 52,2 |
| '09 | 45,9 | 30,5 | 45 | 52,9 |
| '10 | 48,4 | 30,8 | 46,7 | 52,9 |
| '11 | 44,5 | 33,3 | 47,7 | 55 |
| '12 | 39 | 34,2 | 48,9 | 56,8 |
| '13 | 45,2 | 34,5 | 49 | 59,1 |
| '14 | 45 | 34,6 | 53,5 | 59,1 |
| '15 | 47,7 | 35,2 | 53,3 | 62,4 |
| '16 | 46,3 | 35,8 | 51,3 | 62,4 |
| '17 | 45,3 | 36,2 | 51,5 | 58,5 |
| '18 | 48,8 | 34,3 | 53,5 | 59,3 |
| '19 | 45 | 35 | 53,4 | 58,9 |
| '20 | 48,3 | 35,6 | 57,1 | 62,4 |
| '21 | 55,6 | 37,8 | 52 | 60,1 |
| '22 | 50,4 | 33,5 | 53,6 | 62,6 |
| '23 | 50,3 | 37,9 | 57 | 62,9 |
| '24 | 49,2 | 39,4 | 54 | 64,1 |
Analysis
The increasing trend in the share of female PhD graduates is reflected in all clusters since 1991. In 2024 the medical cluster has the largest share of female PhD's (64.1%), followed by the social cluster (54.0%). In 2006, the share of women already surpassed the share of men among new doctorate holders in the medical cluster. Since 2014, over half the PhD degrees in the social sciences is obtained by women. Despite substantial growth in the share of PhD's obtained by women in the sciences cluster since 1991, this share lags behind compared to other clusters.
For an explanation of the used definitions and abbreviations we refer to the webpage Definitions for Science in Figures.
Downloads
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Download factsheet New university doctorate holders by gender and scientific field
New university doctorate holders by gender and scientific field
file type xlsx - file size 44.92 KB
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