Steps to boost female numbers in higher education take root

Women’s rights and gender equality, and the decisions taken and incentives provided to support them, are at the heart of a country’s development. Therefore, public policies that support equal opportunities and women’s advancement are crucial.

Different legislation and strategies have been implemented by Türkiye in this regard and the progress of women in Turkish academia and of female students in higher education has reached high levels over a relatively short period.

The first two universities in Türkiye – Istanbul and Ankara universities, founded in 1933 and 1946 respectively – had no female academics. In the 1950s, the number of female academics at Istanbul University was just 24. In 2024, the total number of academics in Türkiye is 184,947, of whom 86,125 (47%) are women. The proportion of female students in higher education is 49.6%.

Despite these high figures, the proportion of women in decision-making and senior management positions in Turkish academia and business is low, as in many European countries. The proportion of women in senior positions (such as rector, dean and head of department) at Turkish universities is around 28%, but the number of women rectors ranges from 7% to 11%.

In the European Union, women account for around 48% of PhD graduates but only 40% of associate professors and 26% of full professors. In STEM fields, a sixth of full professors are women, and in social sciences, just 28% of professors are women.

Sustainable Development Goals

Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015, with a pledge to achieve them by 2030, is Goal 5, the concept of “equal opportunities for women and men”. This aims to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and girls while empowering women in all areas.

Universities and academia are expected to prepare young people for the future and provide the human resources countries need. Higher education is recognised as having an enormous role to play in achieving the SDGs.

Sustainable and effective development efforts depend on the internalisation of the concept of ‘equal opportunities for women and men’, access to resources, actualisation of rights, public visibility, women’s participation in decision-making mechanisms and the idea that women should benefit from social, political and economic rights in the same way as men.

We are determined to continue to put all our efforts into achieving this vision.

The 2022 Gender Equality Report, prepared by Times Higher Education and the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, shows us how the presence of female students in higher education institutions worldwide has increased and how well they are performing. In this study, data from 776 universities were analysed. More than half – 54% – of the students who received a graduation diploma in 2019 were female students.

In Türkiye, the proportion of female higher education students continues to increase. Looking at the statistics for 2024, the total number of students is 7,081,289; the number of undergraduate students is 3,740,171 (of which 1,936,660 are female and 1,803,511 male); the number of associate degree students is 2,822,626 (of which 1,494,714 are female and 1,327,912 male); the total number of graduate students is 409,559 (199,286 are female and 210,273 are male) and the number of PhDs is 108,933 (of which 54,862 are female and 54,071 are male).

Women’s studies

During my tenure as president of the Council of Higher Education (CoHE) (2014-21), the Commission for Women’s Studies and Problems was established in 2015.

Subsequently, research centres for women’s studies in academia opened up, dedicated to offering more space for women in research, to the prevention of violence against women, to getting more women into decision-making mechanisms and into working life generally, to addressing problems faced by female students, especially in less developed regions, and to the elimination of all kinds of discrimination against women.

In this context, it was strongly recommended that universities ensure safety for women on campus, create guidance courses on the subject by opening compulsory and elective courses and collaborate to raise awareness. Today, 128 out of 208 universities have research centres for women’s studies in academia, actively working with relevant public institutions and NGOs in their regions.

And progress has continued. As of 2024, 2,694 students are enrolled in masters and doctoral programmes in women’s studies at Turkish universities. Furthermore, as of May 2024, 535 masters theses, 86 doctoral dissertations and 55 medical specialisation theses have been completed on the prevention of violence against women.

Many projects have been carried out in Turkish universities, including European Union projects with relevant institutions such as the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Family and Social Services, TUBITAK – the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye – and relevant national and international NGOs.

What’s more, the Commission on Women’s Studies in the Research Processes under the CoHE and TUBITAK, established in 2020 during my presidency, adopted the recommendations and decisions of the Standing Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation – a policy committee that advises the European Commission – in relation to the distribution of research funding, evaluation of projects, transparency of evaluation procedures and ensuring there is an equal proportion of women and men on research panels.

The presidencies of CoHE and TUBITAK have communicated these recommendations to all Turkish universities, especially research universities so that they can consider, for instance, creating a guide and preparing action plans accordingly while preserving their own priorities, goals and cultural codes in various fields.

On 28 October 2021 Türkiye officially joined Europe’s Horizon research programme, covering the 2021-27 period, as an accredited country. According to the new programme rules, all higher education institutions, research centres and public institutions in Türkiye are expected to prepare and publish institutional Gender Equality Plans to receive funding.

Women in STEM

In STEM, women are making their presence felt in Türkiye. Since the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye, Turkish leaders have paved the way for women to take part in technical, medical and engineering fields. Today, several Turkish female students are studying engineering not only in Türkiye but also in the United States and European Union countries, though women’s education in STEM subjects is not yet at the desired level.

According to Eurostat data, the proportion of female scientists in research, technology, health, engineering, and research and development has reached 45% in Türkiye, while it is at 41% in the EU.

Türkiye has surpassed Germany, France and the United Kingdom in this respect. As published in the 2021 SheFigures, the success of Turkish women in research and doctoral studies is ahead of many European Union countries.

Meanwhile, 2024 figures show that, of the 121,914 students studying at medical faculties in Türkiye, 63,325 (52%) are female. Besides, 41,400 (55%) of the 75,728 students studying at law faculties are female. The rates in engineering are slightly lower than in law, health sciences and medicine: 73,880 (29%) are female.

Vocational education

The rate of female students in vocational education, which is of great importance for the future of our country, is 53%. In this context in 2020, based on the ISCED 2013 classification, the CoHE brought together hundreds of programmes that provided the same content and competencies under a single programme name.

Türkiye’s vocational education system has attained international standards. Today, our universities have 1,016 vocational schools open for students graduating from vocational high schools. Of these schools, 910 are established in state universities, while 106 are in foundation universities. Of the total 2,822,626 students in vocational schools, 1,494,714 are female.

The majority of these female students come from rural areas. In addition to vocational and technical education, these women make significant progress socially as concepts of social integration and adaptation to the academic environment are part of their education, conferences and panels.

In addition, the chambers of industry and commerce and the art departments in their region contribute to the education of these women. The ‘opening of a university in every province’ project has also changed the situation in some areas of Anatolia, where girls used not to be sent to university for socio-economic and traditional reasons. It has encouraged girls to attend university in their cities and regions.

Longer term impact

Today, there is no problem with female students accessing higher education in Türkiye and benefiting from the opportunities offered by higher education. In medicine, health sciences and law, the rates of female students and academics are higher than in many countries, including European ones.

In addition, there has been a significant increase in the number of female ambassadors and female members of parliament in Türkiye compared to previous years.

I firmly believe that all the women’s studies outlined above have contributed significantly to the increase in these numbers and to the establishment of this ecosystem. This trend is very likely to be reflected in the rates of women administrators in academia in the coming years.

Professor MA Yekta Saraç is the chief presidential advisor in Türkiye. He served as president of the Turkish Council of Higher Education (CoHE) between 2014 and 2021. He is currently a professor of Turkish language and literature at Istanbul University.

This article is a commentary. Commentary articles are the opinion of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of University World News.