Women lead over a quarter of world’s top universities: Report

Since data collection began 11 years ago, the number of women in top university leadership positions has nearly doubled, increasing by 96 percent from just 28 in 2015. For the second consecutive year, four of the world’s top 10 universities are led by women.

For the second year in a row, four of the world’s top 10 universities have a woman leader. (Images taken from official website, graphic by Angshuman Maity)

More than a quarter of the world’s leading universities are now headed by women, according to data by a British magazine Times Higher Education (THE). These figures, released ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, highlight a stark contrast with global corporate leadership. In the Fortune Global 500, only 5.4 percent of the world’s largest companies are led by female CEOs.

The latest figures show that 55 of the top 200 institutions in THE World University Rankings 2025 — 27 per cent — are headed by women vice-chancellors or presidents. This marks the seventh consecutive year of progress, rising from 25 per cent in 2024 (50 female leaders) and 24 per cent in 2023 (48 female leaders).

Since data collection began 11 years ago, the number of women in top university leadership positions has nearly doubled, increasing by 96 per cent from just 28 in 2015.

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Several countries, including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the US, saw an increase in female university leaders. Of all, Switzerland experienced the largest year-on-year rise, with Virginia Richter (University of Bern), Audrey Leuba (University of Geneva), and Anna Fontcuberta i Morral (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) stepping into leadership roles.

However, the number of women vice-chancellors in the UK dropped from nine to eight following Duncan Ivison’s appointment at the University of Manchester, replacing Nancy Rothwell. Sweden’s count declined from two to one, while France saw the biggest drop, losing two female leaders, leaving Sorbonne University as the only top-200 institution in the country with a woman at the helm.

For the second consecutive year, four of the world’s top 10 universities are led by women. However, Carol Christ’s retirement means the University of California, Berkeley has left this group, while Yale University has joined with the appointment of Maurie McInnis as president in July.

The year has not been without controversy. Minouche Shafik resigned as president of Columbia University in August following criticism of her handling of a Congressional hearing on antisemitism and subsequent student protests. She was succeeded by interim president Katrina Armstrong.

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Despite the progress, gender disparities remain significant. Of the 30 countries or territories with universities in the top 200, half (15) had no female leaders, including China, Canada, and South Korea.

In India too, there are fewer women holding vice chancellor positions, however, it has improved in these 10 years. As per a research by Dr Darshna Banker, Assistant Professor at Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi, the number of institutions led by women in 2015, 2018, and 2021 was 54, 63, and 110, respectively.

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