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Women's network LNVH has rewarded Irène Curie program

The Dutch Network of Female Professors (LNVH) has presented TU/e with its LNVH medal. The medal, which is presented for the sixth time during the twenty years of existence of LNVH, is meant for individuals or institutions that have made an outstanding contribution to improving the position of women in science and to creating an inclusive academic culture. Rector Frank Baaijens says he’s very proud of it.

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photo LNVH

LNVH chairwoman Hanneke Takkenberg calls the TU/e program “groundbreaking”, and praises "the vigor with which TU/e has devised the Irène Curie Fellowship, implemented it and continued it in the face of adversity."

With that last remark Takkenberg refers to the period when the program was put on hold temporarily because at the end of 2019 complaints were uttered about it at the national Human Rights Board. The mainly male admitters of the 49 complaints, that reached the Human Rights Board through the antidiscrimination agency RADAR, were concerned about the fact that women were being given preference and they themselves were being excluded. This year at the beginning of May TU/e reactivated the program in a modified way.

Prerequisites

Takkenberg not only calls the program effective, but she also notes that it has provided more insight and clearer prerequisites for this type of initiative, thanks to the process at the Human Rights Board. “This is extremely useful for others who want to follow your example,” she says in the LNVH's award letter.

“For us being awarded the LNVH medal is a tremendous recognition of our steadfast commitment, and the success of the program,” rector Frank Baaijens responds. “I am proud of it. The medal will hang in our boardroom and serve as a constant reminder of how important it is that we work on this.”

TU/e President Robert-Jan Smits emphasizes the profits for the university. “We have been able to attract a large group of very talented female scientists from all over the world thanks to our Irène Curie Fellowship program. As a result, we have achieved exceptional growth in the proportion of women in our scientific staff. Our aim remains to reach a percentage of 30% in each job category and in each department since, at that percentage, a minority ceases to be a minority and achieves the influence it deserves.”

The program, that was introduced in 2019, and aimed at increasing the proportion of women in the permanent scientific staff at TU/e, has since its inception resulted in 73 women having been appointed to the permanent scientific staff, an increase of more than fifty percent. LNVH also filmed the award presentation.

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