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The share of female researchers in the Netherlands and other countries

data publication
Science in Figures
02 November 2023
research Women Academic careers
What proportion of researchers in companies, research institutions and higher education in the Netherlands is female? And how does this share compare to the share of female researchers in other countries? In this data publication, we show that the share in the Netherlands is growing, but that it is relatively low compared to other countries.

In short

  • The share of female researchers in the Netherlands is growing.
  • Internationally, the proportion of female researchers in the Netherlands is low.
  • This is partly due to a low proportion of female scientists in the business world.

Female researchers in the Netherlands by sector

Source: Eurostat
Notes: Based on head count data concerning the number of researchers employed. 

Analysis
In the Netherlands the share of female researchers is the largest in the higher education sector, followed by the research institutes. The business sector is clearly falling behind on this aspect when compared to the other two sectors. This might be related to the more natural and technical orientation of the research in the business sector, when compared to higher education and research institutes. Between 2001 and 2021 the share of women has increased significantly in all sectors. As of 2013, the share of women researchers has grown fastest in the business sector. This could be partially explained through a data revision. As a consequence, some organisations that were previously classified as research institutes are now classified as businesses. 
 

Comparison of female researchers in the Netherlands and in other countries

Source: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)/ Main Science and Technology Indicators (MSTI) 2023-2. Eurostat (EU-averages).
Notes: Based on head count. UK 2018 and Denmark 2019.  

Analysis
The disparity between countries in the share of female researchers is large. For example, in Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and Norway a relatively high share of researchers is female. In contrast, the Netherlands has a relatively low share of female researchers, mainly caused by the relatively low share of female researchers at companies (She Figures 2018).

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