Women's Access To Higher Education And Their Weight In Academia Is Increasing

- Women's access to higher education and their weight in academia is increasing

- Women account for 46.4 percent in academia and 51.7 percent of female students at universities

- The rate of female academics is above the average of European and OECD countries

- In the 2023-2024 academic year, the proportion of female students enrolled in engineering departments increased by approximately 4 percent compared to previous years and reached 31 percent

- While the field with the highest proportion of female academics is Health Sciences, the increase in their interest in programs related to Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics draws attention

In Turkey, women's access to higher education and their weight in academia has been increasing in recent years.

February 11 is celebrated by the United Nations as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The proportion of women in higher education and science in Turkey has surpassed OECD countries and Europe.

Last year, the proportion of girls in the number of students enrolled in higher education surpassed that of boys for the first time, reaching 50.8 percent. In 2024, this ratio increased even more in favor of girls, reaching 51.7 percent. Of the 7 million 503 thousand 181 students in higher education, 3 million 879 thousand 512 are girls and 3 million 623 thousand 669 are boys.

Increase in the number of scientists draws attention

There are 181,498 academic staff at universities in Turkey. Of these, 97,291 are male and 84,207 are female. Accordingly, the rate of female academics has increased to 46.4 percent. This rate is above the average of 43 percent of female academics in Europe and OECD countries.

The number of female research assistants and female lecturers in academia surpassed men. Of the 42,350 research assistants, 22,792 (53.8 percent) and 18,444 (51.6 percent) of the 35,776 lecturers are women.

Among female academics at universities in Turkey, there are 12,296 professors, 9,947 associate professors and 20,728 assistant professors. Women make up 34.3 percent of professors, 41.8 percent of associate professors and 47.4 percent of doctoral faculty members.

- They have surpassed men in health sciences, and are turning towards natural sciences and mathematics

While the field with the highest proportion of female academics is Health Sciences, the increase in their interest in programs related to Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics draws attention.

The number of female academics working in the field of health sciences has surpassed men. Data show that the proportion of women in the total number of academics working in this field has increased to 53 percent.

- They surpassed men in health sciences, but are turning to natural sciences and mathematics

While the field with the highest proportion of female academics is Health Sciences, the increase in their interest in programs related to Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics draws attention.

The number of female academics working in the field of health sciences has surpassed men. Data show that the proportion of women in the total number of academics working in this field has increased to 53 percent.

There are 8,345 (48.2 percent) female academics in Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics programs, 9,177 (35.2 percent) in Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction programs, and 1,125 (31.3 percent) in Information and Communication Technologies programs.

- Girls' tendency towards engineering is increasing

The proportion of female academics working in the field of engineering, which was mostly preferred by men in the past, has increased to 30 percent as of this year.

Women's interest in engineering is also reflected in higher education preferences. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the proportion of female students enrolled in engineering departments increased by approximately 4 percent compared to previous years and reached 31 percent.

On the other hand, Hacettepe University ranks 60th in the world in Times Higher Education's Gender Equality ranking based on sustainability indicators. In the World University Rankings on this subject, 55 of our universities are among the world's top 1200 universities.