The place of women in Leiden University was not steadily established for a very long time. Their roles spanned beyond the realms of academics and students. Seeking equality with men, they fought to obtain the right to work, to study and teach at university, to attain high-level jobs and to vote.

The Dutch women’s movement began around 1967 with the discussion of the disadvantages that women faced in daily life. In 1968 the MVM (Man-Vrouw-Maatschappij) was born and played an important role as a public voice demanding female education programs and inclusion in the workforce.

Sophia aims to create equal opportunities and promote a better working climate for female academic staff at Leiden University.

Considering the fact that for a long time women were not allowed to participate either in university life nor in academia, women found different ways they could be included.

What better way to represent women in the present than to ask them? The Museums Matters Class decided to ask Leiden’s Leading Ladies to loan an object which they felt encompassed their time here, from those in their undergraduate to one of the 23 female professors, with many positions in between.

The Women’s March was held on 9 March 2019 in Amsterdam and many students and members of staff from Leiden University took part in speaking out against oppression and making societal change.

Crime is men’s business, isn’t it? Women are responsible for 10 percent of crime in Europe. Yet, if we look at the Dutch Republic in the early modern period, we find that in the towns of Holland women played a much larger role in crime.

Women in International Security -Netherlands (WIIS-NL) is an affiliate of WIIS Global. WIIS-NL Members include: professionals, civil servants, academics, NGOs, employees of international bodies and organizations, embassy staff, politicians, students, and interested members of the general public. The…

This special issue focuses on emerging trends in the implementation of the WPS agenda. In reviewing the resolution 20 years since the passing of Resolution 1325, Newby and O'Malley have highlighted the gaps in implementation.

Bringing together the most current research on the relationship between crime and gender in the West between 1600 and 1914, this authoritative volume places female criminality within its everyday context.

On 18 May 2022, Annelien Bouland defended her thesis 'Please give me my divorce: an ethnography of Muslim women and the law in Senegal'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof.dr. J.M. Otto, Prof.dr. M.M.A. Kaag and Dr.ir. C.I.M. Jacobs.

Where are the Women in Global Governance and in peace processes?

How many stars are there in the Universe? And how can astronauts float in space? These and many other questions about astronomy will be answered at Leiden University on Saturday 9 February.

How are the narrative concerns of Nigerian female writers constructed in relation to the structure to their society?

The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda arising from United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 has reached a critical juncture in its short 20-year history. Despite comprising ten resolutions designed to bolster the agenda and expand its scope and normative power, serious challenges to the…

In the early modern period women played a prominent role in crime. At times they even made up half of all defendants. Female criminality was a typically urban phenomenon. Why do we find so many women before the Dutch criminal courts?

Punching Back is a detailed ethnographic study that demonstrates that young Muslim women who kickbox develop agentive selves by challenging gender norms, challenging expectations, and living out their religious subjectivities.

This book provides an exploration into the historical transformations of women's interactions with state police in the Western world from 1800 to 1950.

Promotor: J. Kuiper

From Soledad Acosta de Samper and Albalucía Angel to Hazel Robinson Abrahams and Amalialú Posso Figueroa. During the Symposium & Workshop Experience and Voice: Library of Colombian Women Writers, Carolina Olarte-Bácares, Ambassador of Colombia, donates the Biblioteca de Escritoras Colombianas to the…

This article examines the effects of introducing proportional representation (PR) in Polish local elections on women’s political representation.

Nadine Akkerman's book Invisible Agents is the very first study to analyse the role of early modern women spies. The book foregrounds the agency of early-modern women, offering a corrective to the gender bias implicit in modern historiography.

In Women and Property Rights in Indonesian Islamic Contexts, eight scholars of Indonesian Islam examine women’s access to property in law courts and in village settings.

Mei-Wen Chen defended her thesis on 29 June 2016

Kohei Suzuki, assistant professor at Leiden University, together with Victor Lapuente, examined how male and female public managers show attitudinal differences toward innovation in the public sector.

Sasse, van Breen, Spears & Gordijn demonstrated an anger gap in response to sexism which was larger for women than for men and found evidence that expressed anger was associated with instrumental concerns.

This article investigates the efforts of influential Turkish Muslim civil society actors to amplify the voices of Muslim women in the Netherlands.

What was the relationship between women and modern media in different parts of Asia in the 20th century? Under what historical and social conditions did women achieve prominence in popular music in Asia?

In this article in 'The Senses and Society' Jasmijn Rana discusses how women learn to move, use their bodies, and become a different kind of being than men. She focuses on the embodiment of gender in recreational running environments.

This book presents the results of a research about the Islamic courts of Cianjur in West Java, and Bulukumba in South Sulawesi and the role they play in local divorce practices.

On Wednesday 3 September 2025 Yu Ai successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

A growing amount of literature is being devoted to interrogating gendered dynamics in both violent extremism and terrorism, contributing to the integration of international and feminist security. This includes how such dynamics can shape differences in the motivations and participation of women and…

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. Smets, Co-promotor: T.R. van Andel

Rebecca Tompkins defended her thesis on 21 March 2019

On Wednesday 14 February 2024 Yorum Beekman successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

In this paper, the authors study how individual and country-level variables interact in affecting political gender attitudes in Europe.

How do women and men living in logging concessions in Solomon Islands experience the impacts of logging during and after logging operations? This project assesses how and why industrial logging affects men and women differently. Using insights from an ethnographic case-study of the logging industry…

In this article, Maria-Elena Kisyova, Yannick Veilleux-Lepage and Vanessa Newby shed some light on how a small but highly visible group of influencers are actively working to promote a dangerous far-right ideology.

The shift from response to recovery is now noticeable as the world moves past the paralyzing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This book explores responses to the pandemic by international, regional, and local institutions, multilateral action, and crisis prevention efforts at different levels of governance,…

Indirect Method, Critique, and Responsibility in Derrida, Hegel, and Heidegger. Explores why Derrida, Hegel, and Heidegger conceive of their thought as a “movement” rather than as a presentation of results or conclusions.

Africa is seen as a potential leader in green hydrogen production for domestic consumption, export and greening industry. One key barrier to realising this potential is the mismatch of skills between those required by industry and the capability of local workforces.

Today, 8 March, marks International Women's Day. Leiden University fosters her female, talented staff members, and continues to strive towards more women on leading scientific positions.

Women behind the front play an important role in a large proportion of Iranian novels, written on the Iran and Iraq-war (1980-1988). But their martyrdom is an uncommon theme. Saeedeh Shahnahpur will give a lecture on this subject on 16 February.

On 8 March, International Women’s Day, equal opportunities for women worldwide, empowerment, and gender equality take centre stage. For years, the role of women in the past has been nearly invisible. Four archaeologists reflect on this inequality of focus, from hunter-gatherers in the palaeolithic to…

For the duration of a month, the portraits of female professors only will hang in the Senate Chamber of Leiden University. This is the initiative of Athena’s Angels, who want more room for women, literally and figuratively. Vice-Rector Simone Buitendijk unveiled the portrait photos on 8 March.

Spying in the seventeenth century was a man’s job. That had been the prevailing impression, until the Veni research by Nadine Akkerman from Leiden University...

For a month long, the Senate Chamber of Leiden University was reserved for portraits of women. The work of art showing a hundred unique portraits of female professors has now been put into storage, but the board of the University is taking measures to promote the image of women in science.

Leiden University has a new network for female academics: Sophia. Sophia strives for equal opportunities and a better working environment for female academic staff.