Women and men at ULiège

What is the proportion of women and men within the University of Liege, among students and staff ? The ULiège draws up its gender map, as well as the actions - in progress or to come - which tend towards the best possible balance.

Stimulating the arrival and retention of women

Parity has been achieved in certain categories, such as scientists. The administration at ULiège demonstrates that women can hold, with excellence, management positions that are still difficult for them to access in other sectors of the labor market. However, they are still in a clear minority at the level of the Board of Governors (the University's decision-making body) and it has taken more than ten years to see the number of women holding the highest academic degree increase from 8 to 28% (only).

The "glass ceiling", illustrated by the "diagram scissor" pattern (see above) and showing the research and teaching careers of men and women at ULiège, even if it is tending to shrink (very) slowly, is still present. The higher you go in the hierarchy and academic ranks, the fewer women you find - and this is not a question of lack of competence. This issue concerns the entire academic academic world, as highlighted by the joint report from the universities of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and F.R.S.-FNRS on the state of gender equality.

In addition, as Florence Caeymaex, Advisor in charge of ethics and equality policies since October^1, 2022, points out, "we should not be happy about the overrepresentation of women in certain fields of study either, because, from a sociological point of view, the abandonment of a sector by men is often a sign of its symbolic and economic devaluation. This is why parity remains so important."

How to change the situation?

Waiting for the trends to reverse themselves does not seem to be an option for a university that aims for excellence in all areas : teaching, research, but also its own practices. So how can we change the way our institution operates?

For Florence Caeymaex, "moving towards parity in all categories requires not imposing quotas, nor simply encouraging women, but fighting against discrimination. This means removing, wherever necessary, the unfair and unjustified obstacles that stand in the way of women in their studies and their professional lives. On the one hand, transforming social relations in the university: addressing sexist behaviors, ending sexual harassment, and thinking together about healthier forms of mentoring relationships (from professor to student, from supervisor to researcher). On the other hand, adapting the organization of work: making visible and correcting gender biases in research evaluation, in recruitment and promotion procedures, and adapting work practices to the real lives of women and men, to make them more compatible with tasks related, for example, to parenthood or peer support."

In 2022, ULiège set up a Gender and Equality Council to propose an institutional strategy and to launch and implement projects in this area. The Council's first report (April 2023), based on proposals from the university community, enabled the authorities to draw up a list of actions and measures which were presented to the Board of Directors.