The European Women Rectors Association (EWORA) is an International Non-Profit Association established in Brussels under Belgian law in December 2015. EWORA promotes women’s leadership in academia and advocates for gender equality in higher education and research across Europe and internationally.
EWORA grew from the European Women Rectors Platform (EWRP), a pioneering network that brought women rectors and academic leaders together through the biennial Beyond the Glass Ceiling conferences. Beginning in Istanbul in 2008, the initiative created a space for academic leaders to exchange experience, strengthen international cooperation and address the structural barriers facing women in higher education.
The platform was founded by Carmen Fenoll, Kristín Ingólfsdóttir, Helena Nazaré, Ursula Nelles, Gülsün Sağlamer (Founding President), Christina Ullenius and Krista Varantola. Their vision and commitment laid the foundations for EWORA’s work today.
EWORA works to strengthen women’s participation in academic leadership, support inclusive institutional cultures and connect leaders who are committed to lasting structural change. Through research, advocacy, mentoring and international collaboration, the association turns shared experience into collective action.
EWORA’s roots reach back to the EU-funded UNICAFE project (2006–2008), in which Istanbul Technical University participated. Its findings highlighted the importance of leadership in advancing gender equality in higher education and inspired the first European women rectors conference in Istanbul in 2008.
Current Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board profiles are presented on the Governing Bodies page.
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