Minister rejects TU Delft's request for a gender quota in aerospace engineering program

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science confirmed that no gender quota will be introduced for the aerospace and space engineering course at the Technical University Delft, despite the university’s request. The ministry said that implementing a quota would need a change to the law, which it considers excessive because it would apply to every programme and allow treatment based on personal traits. It maintains that current educational programmes already contain enough tools to advance gender parity in technical fields.

Earlier, the College for the Rights of the Human had advised the ministry to explore ways to enable preferential treatment for female students, referencing the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Henri Werij, dean of studies at TU Delft, said he was sincerely saddened by the minister’s ruling and highlighted the university’s ongoing efforts to attract more women to engineering. A dialogue between the university and the ministry is scheduled for December to discuss possible actions within existing regulations.