On Int. Women’s Day, University of Haifa Reveals More Than Half of Faculty Are Women

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day on Monday, University of Haifa has revealed that more than half of its faculty are women, denoting the significant progress that has been made in Israeli academia towards gender equality.

According to the latest figures, of the 787 junior faculty members, 60% are women; and of the 285 senior faculty members, 44% are women.

Speaking about the University’s mission to maintain this progress, Prof. Shulamit Almog, Advisor to the President and Commissioner on Gender Equity at University of Haifa and Co-Director of the University’s Law, Gender and Policy Forum, said: “The University should strive to examine major decisions through the lens of gender equality. To realize this goal, the University will be in close contact with experts in gender equality within the institution and beyond. Some issues that should be examined include providing relevant and up-to-date information regarding recruiting women and providing tenure to women who are part of our senior faculty to ensure they are represented in leadership and management positions.”

Additionally, last month, two University of Haifa professors won the acclaimed Israel Prize: Prof. Nitza Ben Dov received the award for Hebrew Literature, while Ariela Lowenstein won for her work in Sociology and Criminology.

Prof. Lowenstein, founder and head of the Social Gerontology Center for Research at University of Haifa, is specifically being acknowledged for her world-class research in the field of elderly aging, particularly in “identifying, decades ago, the greatest challenge of the elderly facing the 21st century: improving quality of life as members of the population age.”

Prof. Ben Dov,of the University of Haifa’s Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, is a renowned Israeli critic being recognized for her pioneering research comparing new and ancient Hebrew literature, while exploring universal and comparative aspects of corresponding prominent works of Western literature.

“Having half of our faculty be comprised by women is a badge of honor for the University,” said University of Haifa President Prof. Ron Robin. “Gender diversity enables a myriad of opinions, ideas and encourages different ways of looking at the world which ultimately fuels the University’s drive for excellence. I believe the University’s high representation of women is a critical factor in the University’s recent success. We hope this trend will only continue in the decades to come.”