A letter signed by more than fifty Cambridge academics has made a call for more female professors.

While forty-five per cent of British academic staff are women, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, seventy-eight per cent of university professors are men. The letter insists that this gap be closed by “broaden[ing] how we judge and value success in UK higher education”. It suggests this could be achieved through a more inclusive academic recruitment process, one that takes into consideration a broader range of skills and achievements.

As well as considering publications and grants, the Cambridge academics ask that universities recognise teaching, outreach work and other relevant qualities.

To ignore these sorts of achievements, claims the letter, is to privilege successes that tend to be more strongly associated with men. People who undertake this work are “pushed to the margins when specific, quantifiable outcomes take all”.

The signatories surveyed 126 female academics and administrators at Cambridge on this topic. Their responses suggested that there is indeed a difference in which tasks fall to academic staff of different genders.

Recognising the value of tasks female academics are more prone to being assigned, such as teaching, administration and outreach work, would make it easier for women to obtain high recognition.

The letter was published in the Times Higher Education magazine. Signatories include many senior academics such as Dame Athene Donald, gender equality champion at Cambridge, and Jeremy Sanders, pro-vice-chancellor for institutional affairs.