The ratio of female academics in Turkish universities has surpassed 45%, Council of Higher Education (YÖK) data showed on Sunday.

According to the data, the number of female academics increased by 2,199 in 2021 to top 83,860, a figure that makes up for nearly half of the total number of academics in Turkey.

There are 99,741 male academics in Turkey, with the number of female academics drawing nearer each day with increases every year.

According to YÖK data, there are currently more female research fellows in Turkish universities compared to their male counterparts, as 27,160 women and 25,223 men are currently employed.

The number of female lecturers also surpassed their male colleagues as 19,330 women and 18,762 men currently hold the position in Turkish universities.

There are 112 departments of women's studies scattered around the country’s 207 universities, the data has also shown.

Women also make up for 32.5% of the total number of professors in Turkey, surpassing the European Union average of 26.18%.

Meanwhile, the number of female students has also neared half of the total student population, hitting 49% with a 7% increase since 2002.

The YÖK is also intensifying efforts to empower female academics.

The state-run council’s head professor, Yekta Saraç, told Anadolu Agency (AA) previously that they will develop a new ranking system for universities that will include criteria like employing female academics and administrators, and campus safety.

Though it lags in women's employment, Turkey is also ahead of the United States in its ratio of female professors.

The Women in Statistics bulletin published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Friday, ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, sheds light on many aspects of women's daily lives. The focus of the bulletin is women's employment, an issue Turkey strives to address. Based on figures from 2020, the bulletin found that 26.3% of women in the country over the age of 15 were employed, while this figure was 59.8% among men.

The labor force participation rate among people aged 15 and over was 30.9% in 2020 for women, compared to 68.2% for men.

Statistics show the Black Sea region had the highest female employment rate, namely in the provinces of Trabzon, Ordu, Giresun, Rize, Artvin and Gümüşhane, while the lowest rate was seen in the region spanning the southeastern and eastern provinces of Mardin, Batman, Şırnak and Siirt.

According to statistics, women’s participation in the workforce increased proportionately with their education level. The rate was only 12.4% among illiterate women, while an overwhelming 65.6% of women in the workforce were graduates of higher learning institutions. Female high school graduates also made up 29.9% of women in the workforce.

On the other hand, women outpaced men in part-time jobs. Some 19.5% of women had a part-time job while this figure was 9.3% for men. In terms of women with children, 25.2% of mothers aged between 25 and 49 with children below the age of 3 were employed.

Women also boosted their standing in middle- and high-level management positions in the business world. The rate of women in those positions rose to 19.3% according to 2020 figures, compared to 14.4% in 2012, the latest year with available official statistics.

In other areas, 17.4% of lawmakers were women as of 2021. Women held 101 seats in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), compared to the 481 seats occupied by men. The number of female professors rose to 32.4% during the 2020-2021 school year. The number of female ambassadors, on the other hand, dropped to 73.5% in 2021, compared to 88.1% in 2011.

In education, the rate of women who graduated from at least one school (middle school, high school, university and so on) was 87.7% for women. The rate of women aged 25 and above and who graduated from university rose to 19.9% in 2020, compared to 7.6% in 2008.