Minister blocks TU Delft plan for women’s student quota

Education Minister Rianne Letschert has blocked a women’s quota at TU Delft for its aerospace engineering programme.

The university wanted to reserve a minimum number of places for women because women have long been underrepresented among students in the programme.

The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights approved the plan in June, saying it served a legitimate goal and would have limited effects on male applicants.

Letschert supports increasing women’s participation, but says a quota should be a last resort and current law allows admissions criteria based on quality, not sex.

Changing that law could take time and raise questions about other forms of preferential treatment, so the minister plans to use other measures, including programmes to encourage women to study and work in engineering.

A motion passed this month calls on the government to examine how women can be attracted to and retained in male-dominated sectors, while the programme’s dean says existing efforts have brought only limited change and he is disappointed by the decision.