Only one third of Russell Groups have female vice-chancellors, these are the unis which do

It was International Women’s Day this weekend, and once again the spotlight was on gender equality, or the lack of it.

This year’s theme was Accelerate Action, focusing on pushing forward the closure of the gap between genders.

However, whilst gender equality has somewhat improved over the decades, women still face a huge economic and social chasm between them and their male counterparts.

This can be seen in academia where only 30 per cent of professors identify as female, and only 39 per cent are in senior management positions.

A similar pattern can also be found when looking at Russell Group unis specifically as only one third of these institutions are led by female vice-chancellors.

So, which Russell Group universities actually have female vice-chancellors? Let’s see.

University of Oxford

via Cyrus Mower on Creative Commons

A university known for its world leading research, Oxford is run by a highly renowned academic.

Professor Irene Tracey became Oxford’s VC on 1st January 2023. She was formally the Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and is a professor of neuroscience.

She previously attended Oxford, studying biochemistry for undergrad and postgrad. Professor Tracey then held a doctoral position at Harvard Medical School.

Despite one of the world’s best universities being led by a woman, according to recent data, Oxford has been found to have a 19.1 per cent gender pay gap.

University of Cambridge

via YouTube

Another one of Britain’s best universities, Cambridge, is a powerhouse of research and knowledge.

It also has a female vice-chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, who is the third woman to hold this role.

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Professor Prentice started her higher education journey at Stanford University in the USA, before going on to do a PhD at Yale, also in America.

A well-respected psychologist, Professor Prentice continues to lecture, and is also on the board for a number of prestigious groups such as Cambridge University Health Partners.

As with Oxford, despite being led by a woman, Cambridge has a way to go with its gender pay gap which sits at 16.4 per cent.

University of Bristol

via LinkedIn

Bristol Uni is run by Professor Evelyn Welch, who has been its vice-chancellor since 2022.

Professor Welch graduated from Harvard University, and received her PhD from the Warburg Institute in London.

She has worked at a number of higher education establishments, including King’s College London, University of Essex, University of Sussex, and Queen Mary, University of London.

However, Bristol is another university with a gender pay gap. It currently sits at 14.4 per cent, an improvement of just over one per cent from 2024.

Cardiff University

via Kerie McCombe on Creative Commons

Since 2023, Cardiff has had Professor Wendy Larner as its vice-chancellor.

Hailing from New Zealand, Professor Larner was previously Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s provost, holding this role from 2015 to 2023.

In 2018, she became the second ever woman to become president of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, and is Cardiff Uni’s first female VC.

The university currently has gender pay gap of 16.3 per cent but has told The Tab: “The gender pay gap is not an issue of equal pay. The University is confident that staff are paid fairly for doing equivalent jobs across our University and we continue to take action to address any gaps and to make sure our policies and practices are fair.”

A spokesperson also noted that Cardiff was the first university in Wales to create a gender pay gap report

Talking about the pay gap report, Professor Wendy Larner said: “As the first woman to become the Vice-Chancellor for Cardiff University, I am particularly pleased to introduce the 2023 Gender Pay Gap report which shows the difference in the average pay between men and women in our workforce.

“While we are making progress, there is further work to do. As we develop a shared sense of our future university, enhancing equality, diversity and inclusion play a huge part in this.”

Durham University

via LinkedIn

Another one of the female vice-chancellors running a Russell Group university is Professor Karen O’Brien, who has led Durham since 2022.

Before moving to Durham, she was on Oxford Uni’s senior leadership team for five years where she was the head of humanities.

She has also studied at Oxford, as well as the University of Pennsylvania, and has held academic posts at Cardiff, Warwick, and Cambridge.

Just like all the other unis on this list, Durham also has a gender pay gap, however, it has decreased it significantly in recent years.

Durham has decreased its mean gender pay gap from 25.4 per cent in 2017 to 19.6 per cent in 2023, and its median gender pay gap from 29.3 per cent in 2017 to 19 per cent in 2023.

A spokesperson also noted: “At all the national pay spine-based grades, our mean and median gender pay gap is less than five per cent, with the exception of Grade 2,” and explained the university has been commended for its sector-leading family-friendly policies.

University of Exeter

via University of Exeter

Professor Lisa Roberts has been Exeter’s VC since September 2020.

Prior to taking up this role, she was deputy vice-chancellor for research and innovation at the University of Leeds.

She studied her PhD at the Pirbright Institute, and has also studied at the University of Kent.

Professor Roberts further held the position of executive dean at the University of Surrey’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Whilst in this role, she developed and launched the eighth School of Veterinary Medicine in the UK.

Exeter also had a gender pay gap, which currently sits at 15.3 per cent.

University of Leeds

via University of Leeds

Heading up the University of Leeds is Professor Shearer West, who took up the role in November last year.

Before moving to Leeds, she was the vice-chancellor of Nottingham Uni, leading it to be one of the first to gain Race Equality Charter Bronze status.

However, the university’s current gender pay gap is 18.2 per cent.

University of Nottingham

via LinkedIn

After Professor West left to go to Leeds, Nottingham continued to be led by a woman, as Professor Jane Norman took on the role of vice-chancellor.

Professor Norman is the eighth VC at the uni, and her research focuses on physics and medical science.

She studied at the University of Edinburgh for both undergrad and to achieve her MD.

Professor Norman is also is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

However, following the same pattern as all of the above unis, Nottingham also has a gender pay gap. Currently, it sits at 19 per cent.

Featured image via University of Exeter and University of Nottingham