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Tomorrow's Leaders! For First Time, Women To Lead Top 4 Out Of 5 Best Global Universities

The Times Higher Education's (THE) Global University Rankings 2023 revealed that the top four out of five global universities - Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are to be led by women leaders.

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Top universities across the world are seeing a shift in power, with women chairing decision-making positions and making academic spaces inclusive. According to the Times Higher Education's (THE) Global University Rankings 2023, women are to lead four out of five leading universities worldwide – Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The rankings that are to be revealed by July 2023 have suggested how four of the top-five ranking universities are to be led by women for the first time ever.

The World University Rankings 2023 data revealed that 48 out of 200 universities have women presidents or vice-chancellors. This is an increase from the 43 last year, and it indicates a 12 percent increase in women leadership positions from 2022. This surge in numbers was seen after increasing appointments of women leaders in the United States and Germany. The US constituted a significant proportion with 16 out of 58 of the Top Universities led by women leaders. Additionally, out of the top 200 universities, 2.5 percent are led by women of color.

Women In Leadership Positions

Oxford University, which usually ranked first in THE's rankings, is currently led by Irene Tracey. The second and third on the list, Harvard and Cambridge, will appoint Claudine Gay and Deborah Prentice in the leadership positions by July. The reputed MIT also sees a woman, Sally Kornbluth, in its leadership position.

In the case of German universities, women lead the top five. Compared to 2022, three more universities have joined the list - the University of Tübingen (Karla Pollmann), the University of Freiburg (Kerstin Krieglstein), and the Technical University of Berlin (Geraldine Rauch). A similar pattern was noted in other European countries such as Netherlands (5 out of 10), France (3 out of 5), and the UK (8 out of 28).

Asia also did not fall far behind when it came to women in leadership positions. Neuroscientist Nancy Ip became President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, becoming the first woman leader of a top 200 university in the region in the past five years. Saudi Arabia also introduced a woman leader but in an interim position. Hana Abdullah Al-Nuaim is the woman leader of the country's largest university, King Abdulaziz University.

All these figures released by THE show that there has been a constant year-on-year increase of women leaders in global universities. This comes across as a good news and a hopeful tomorrow for equality. However, according to a report by Business Today, the data also conveys that out of the 27 countries that featured universities in the top 200, 12 countries did not have any women leading their top institutions.

Also Read: Breaking Past Biases! Self-Limiting Beliefs Hold Back 50% Women From Leadership Roles, Says Study

Contributors Suggest Correction
Writer : Laxmi Mohan Kumar
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Editor : Ankita Singh
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Creatives : Laxmi Mohan Kumar

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