• Employee
  • 24/03/2026
  • Nederlands

Almost half of female PhD candidates experience misconduct

Bullying, discrimination, or sexual harassment … A significant number of PhD candidates—especially women—encounter inappropriate behavior, according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). “This is very concerning,” says Promovendi Netwerk Nederland.

by
photo iStock / Deagreez

How do scientists look back on their PhD once they have obtained their doctorate? What did they experience during that time? Statistics Netherlands asked them these questions.

Among recently graduated women, 44 percent say they experienced inappropriate behavior during their PhD trajectory. Among men, this percentage is lower: 26 percent.

What exactly did they experience? Bullying, discrimination, and threats are reported. One in ten women faced sexual harassment.

© HOP. Source: CBS. PhD graduates from the past 10 years.

The perpetrator may be a full professor, but also a fellow PhD candidate or someone the candidate “came into contact with as part of the PhD trajectory.” The data does not provide further detail on this.

Concerning

“This is very concerning,” says chair Martijn van der Meer of the Promovendi Netwerk Nederland (PhD Network Netherlands). “Nearly one in two women and a quarter of men experience inappropriate behavior. That is a lot.”

According to him, it shows that the increased focus on social safety in higher education and academia is justified. For example, he welcomes the Social Safety program, which offers funding for strong initiatives in this area.

Workload

On top of that, workload has increased in recent years. While CBS has no earlier figures on misconduct, it does have data on workload. In 2019, CBS also surveyed PhD graduates.

At that time, 60 percent reported a high or very high workload. In the 2025 survey, that figure has risen to 68 percent. Among women (72 percent), the workload is higher than among men (63 percent).

Van der Meer is disappointed: “There has been a lot of attention on workload over the past five years. Yet we are not seeing a decrease, but an increase.”

Satisfied

Despite these issues, 86 percent of recent PhD graduates look back on their trajectory with overall satisfaction. In 2019, this figure was more favorable, with 93 percent expressing satisfaction. Men are slightly more positive than women, but the difference is small.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.

Share this article