Even though progress has been made, women in leading positions are still underrepresented in academia. This underrepresentation leads to a loss of talent for society and a lack of diversity in the workplace, each of which presents a potential threat to the search for excellence in research. LERU has made a commitment to promote gender diversity in the workplace, to share experience with others and to monitor progress among LERU partners.

This paper analyses the specific challenges that women face in the academic work field and forms different recommendations to take on these challenges. LERU emphasises e.g. four areas in which universities can undertake actions and makes available a wealth of innovative practice from the LERU universities. Furthermore, it points to what others such as research funders, governments and publishers can do to attract and support women in research careers.