Is the Lack of Women in Philosophy a

Universal Phenomenon? Exploring

Women’s Representation in Greek
Departments of Philosophy
SIMONI ILIADI, KOSTAS THEOLOGOU AND SPYRIDON STELIOS

Although recent empirical research suggests that there is a gender gap in Anglophone philoso-
phy, no research has been done on the representation of women in non-Anglophone philoso-
phy. The present study constitutes a first step toward filling this void in the literature by
providing empirical evidence on the representation of female students and female faculty
members in Greek universities’ departments of philosophy. Our findings indicate that the
underrepresentation of female students in philosophy is not a universal phenomenon, since
female students constitute the majority of philosophy students in Greece at both the under-
graduate and the graduate levels. However, our findings also suggest that the low number of
women in philosophy at the faculty level is not a problem unique to Anglophone philosophy,
since female faculty members comprise, on average, only 29% of philosophy faculty mem-
bers in Greece. In order to explain these findings, we argue, first, that the teaching of philos-
ophy at the secondary level may motivate female students in Greece to enter and persist in
philosophy, and, second, that since the gender gap at the faculty level in Greece cannot be
attributed to the low number of female students in the philosophy pipeline, the causes of
women’s poor participation in philosophy at the faculty level should be looked for elsewhere.

I. INTRODUCTION: THE UNDERREPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN PHILOSOPHY

The question “Why are there so few women in philosophy?” has recently attracted a
lot of attention in the literature (for example, Antony 2012; Hutchison and Jenkins
2013; Papineau 2015; Ratcliffe and Shaw 2015). The relatively low number of
women in philosophy has been a great source of puzzlement, mainly because women
are either equally or overrepresented in almost every field of study within the

Hypatia vol. 33, no. 4 (Fall 2018) © by Hypatia, Inc.

 Simoni Iliadi, Kostas Theologou, Spyridon Stelios 701

humanities with the exception of philosophy, which still remains—as all empirical
findings show—a male-dominated field.
Let us review briefly some of the most widely discussed findings regarding women’s
representation in philosophy. In a relatively recent study, Molly Paxton, Carrie Fig-
dor, and Valerie Tiberius investigated the representation of women across academic
levels in US philosophy departments (Paxton, Fidgor, and Tiberius 2012). Their find-
ings, from a sample of fifty-six institutions, suggested that there is a decline in the
proportion of women in philosophy as one moves up the academic hierarchy, with
the most significant drop occurring between introductory undergraduate courses
(where women made up 43% of the student population) and majoring in philosophy
(only 35% of philosophy majors in the study were women). Evidence from UK phi-
losophy departments revealed a similar decline: women constitute 46% of undergrad-
uate students, 37% of Master’s students, 31% of PhD students, and 24% of
permanent academic staff, with the most significant drop-off between the undergradu-
ate and Master’s levels (Beebee and Saul 2011). In Australia, data obtained by the
Australasian Association of Philosophy indicated that although women make up
more than 60% of enrollments in undergraduate philosophy courses, they comprise
only 44% of philosophy major completions, and 42% of doctorate completions (God-
dard 2008).
The above research findings clearly suggest that there is a gender gap in philoso-
phy. However, can these findings regarding women’s (under)representation in philos-
ophy be generalized, and more important, are they applicable to non-Anglophone
philosophy? To put it differently, is the lack of women in philosophy a universal phe-
nomenon or is it just a problem unique to Anglophone philosophy?1 In order to
address this question, more data are needed, first, regarding the representation of
women in philosophy in non-Anglophone countries (for example, in continental Eur-
ope), and second, to establish if, and more important, when women in non-Anglo-
phone countries leave philosophy. By broadening the scope of inquiry beyond
Anglophone philosophy, and by comparing the situation in Anglophone philosophy
departments with the situation in non-Anglophone philosophy departments, we can
gain a better understanding of (both the nature and the extent of) the problem,
which might lead in turn to new—and perhaps more effective—solutions in order to
address it.
With the above end in view, within the context of a broader research project
investigating the sociological and academic profile of philosophy students in Greece,
we decided to conduct a study focusing specifically on this issue, namely the represen-
tation of women in Greek departments of philosophy. The two questions that guided
our research were:
1. What is the gender distribution of philosophy students and philosophy faculty
members in Greek departments of philosophy?
2. At which academic level do women in Greece leave philosophy?
702 Hypatia

Our aim in this paper is to present and interpret the empirical findings of this
study, thereby contributing to the ongoing discussion regarding women’s representa-
tion in philosophy.

II. METHOD

Preliminary research indicated that there are six departments in Greece where stu-
dents can pursue undergraduate and graduate studies in philosophy. These depart-
ments—we will call them “philosophy departments” for reasons of convenience
throughout the paper—are:
• The Department of Philosophy, Education, and Psychology at the National and
Kapodistrian University of Athens (UoA)
• The Department of Philosophy, Education, and Psychology at the University of
Ioannina (UoI)
• The Department of Philosophy and Education at the Aristotle University of Thes-
saloniki (AUTH)
• The Department of Philosophy and Social Studies at the University of Crete
(UoC)
• The Department of Philosophy and History of Science at the National and
Kapodistrian University of Athens (UoA)
• The Department of Philosophy at the University of Patras (UPatras)
It is worth noting that although all of the abovementioned departments offer gradu-
ate degrees in philosophy, they differ in the type of undergraduate degrees that they
offer. More specifically, the Department of Philosophy (UPatras) is the only depart-
ment in Greece where philosophy is (almost) exclusively studied throughout the
four-year undergraduate program leading to a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. The
other five departments offer four-year undergraduate programs that can lead to a
bachelor’s degree with a major in philosophy, if undergraduate students select philoso-
phy—instead of other subjects (for example, psychology, education, social studies, his-
tory of science)—as their main subject in the second (or the third) year of the
program.2
Once we had identified the departments in Greece that offer undergraduate and
graduate degrees in philosophy, in October 2015 we contacted the registrars’ offices
as well as the heads of philosophy departments informing them about our research,
and requesting the following information: (a) the total number of philosophy students
in their undergraduate program (that is, the number of undergraduate students who
were pursuing philosophy as their main subject) and their distribution by gender, (b)
the total number of students in their philosophy graduate program, and their distribu-
tion by gender, (c) the total number of philosophy faculty members, and their distribu-
tion by gender. Since for the purposes of our study we needed only demographic data
(that is, number of students/faculty members and their gender distribution), students’
as well as faculty members’ privacy was protected.
 Simoni Iliadi, Kostas Theologou, Spyridon Stelios 703

Within three months, that is, by December 2015, all departments had responded
positively to our request by sending the information we had asked for. Consequently,
the findings presented in the following section are based on a complete enumeration
of the individuals studying or teaching philosophy in Greek philosophy departments in
the academic year 2015–16.

III. FINDINGS

According to the data we collected, in the academic year 2015–16 there were 3,165
undergraduate and graduate philosophy students in Greek philosophy departments,
with 2,203 of them (or 70%) female and 962 of them (or 30%) male. As philosophy
students we defined all students enrolled in Greek philosophy departments who were
pursuing philosophy as their main subject, namely the undergraduate and graduate
students enrolled in the Department of Philosophy (UPatras), as well as the philoso-
phy majors and philosophy graduate students enrolled in the other five departments
of philosophy (undergraduate students comprised 80% of the total number of philoso-
phy students in the study, and graduate students comprised 20%). Table 1 shows in
detail the gender distribution of undergraduate and graduate philosophy students in
each of the six departments of philosophy in the academic year 2015–16.
Contrary to previous findings in the literature regarding the representation of
female students in (Anglophone) philosophy, the data listed in Table 1 indicate that
in Greece, female philosophy students outnumber their male counterparts in nearly
all departments of philosophy.3 For every male student pursuing studies in philosophy
in the academic year 2015–16, there were, on average, 2.3 female students.

Department (University) Philosophy Students

Male % Female % Total

Philosophy, Education, and Psychology (UοΑ) 196 33 406 67 602

Philosophy, Education, and Psychology (UοΙ) 103 34 203 66 306
Philosophy and Education (AUTH) 158 34 301 66 459
Philosophy and Social Studies (UοC) 153 30 357 70 510
Philosophy and History of Science (UoA) 48 51 46 49 94
Philosophy (UPatras) 304 25 890 75 1194
All 962 30 2203 70 3165
Table 1 Gender distribution of undergraduate and graduate philosophy students by department
(academic year 2015–16). UoA = National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, UoI = University
of Ioannina, AUTH = Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, UoC = University of Crete, UPatras =
University of Patras.
704 Hypatia

To determine whether gender (male, female) was associated with field of study
(philosophy, other), we performed a chi-square test of independence, comparing the
gender distribution of philosophy students with the gender distribution of all students
enrolled at Greek universities who were pursuing studies in other academic fields.4
The results indicated that gender and field of study were related, X² (1, N = 257194)
= 224.3, p <.001. There were significantly more female than male students in philoso-
phy, compared to other academic fields as a whole.5
The situation, however, was completely different at the professional level. As
Table 2 shows, in the academic year 2015–16 there were seventy-six philosophy
instructors in Greek philosophy departments, with fifty-four (or 71%) male and only
twenty-two (or 29%) female.
In order to assess whether there was a statistically significant relationship between
the gender of faculty members (male, female) and their academic discipline (philoso-
phy, other humanities), we used a chi-square test of independence, comparing the
gender distribution of faculty members in philosophy with the gender distribution of
faculty members in all the other humanities disciplines.6 The results indicated that
the two variables were related, X² (1, N = 845) = 12.1, p < .001. There were signifi-
cantly fewer female than male faculty members in philosophy, compared to other
humanities disciplines as a whole.
Nevertheless, both the fact that women were underrepresented among philosophy
faculty members and the fact that they comprised, on average, only 29% of academic
philosophers came as no surprise. These findings were in fact consistent with the find-
ings of all previous studies, which indicated that the proportion of female faculty
members in (Anglophone) philosophy ranges between 20% and 30% (Bishop et al.
2013). Apparently, Greece is not an exception in this regard.

Department (University) Philosophy Faculty Members

Male % Female % Total

Philosophy, Education, and Psychology (UοΑ) 9 64 5 36 14

Philosophy, Education, and Psychology (UοΙ) 7 64 4 36 11
Philosophy and Education (AUTH) 10 91 1 9 11
Philosophy and Social Studies (UοC) 12 71 5 29 17
Philosophy and History of Science (UoA) 8 73 3 27 11
Philosophy (UPatras) 8 67 4 33 12
All 54 71 22 29 76
Table 2 Gender distribution of philosophy faculty members in Greek departments of philosophy
(academic year 2015–16). UoA = National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, UoI = University
of Ioannina, AUTH = Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, UoC = University of Crete, UPatras =
University of Patras.
 Simoni Iliadi, Kostas Theologou, Spyridon Stelios 705

Gender Level of Engagement with Philosophy

Undergraduate Graduate Professional

Male 722 (28.5%) 240 (38.1%) 54 (71.1%)

(-6.7) (4.1) (7.6)
Female 1813 (71.5%) 390 (61.9%) 22 (28.9%)
(6.7) (-4.1) (-7.6)
Table 3 Cross-tabulation of Gender and Level of Engagement with Philosophy (academic year 2015–
16). = 78.7, df = 2. Column percentages appear in parentheses next to group frequencies. Adjusted
standardized residuals appear in parentheses below group frequencies. *p < .001

To sum up, based on the data we collected, the vast majority of philosophy stu-
dents in Greece are female, whereas the vast majority of philosophy faculty members
are male. But how can women make up 70% of philosophy students and only 29% of
philosophy faculty members? Is the drop in the participation of women in philosophy
something that occurs suddenly at the professional level, or is it a piecemeal process
occurring as women move up the academic ladder?
To address these questions, we examined the proportion of women at three differ-
ent levels of engagement with philosophy, namely the undergraduate, the graduate,
and the professional level. The results suggested that the proportion of women
decreases as they move from one level to the next. More specifically, women com-
prised, on average, 72% of philosophy undergraduate students, 62% of philosophy
graduate students, and 29% of philosophy faculty. A contingency table analysis of
gender (male, female) with level of engagement with philosophy (undergraduate,
graduate, professional) revealed a statistically significant relationship between the two
variables, X² (2, N = 3241) = 78.7, p <.001. Examination of adjusted standardized
residuals indicated that there were significantly more women than expected among
philosophy undergraduate students, and significantly fewer women than expected
among philosophy graduate students and philosophy faculty members (see Table 3).
To sum up, despite the significant drop in the proportion of women as they move
up the academic ladder, our data suggest that women in Greece—contrary to women
in Anglophone countries—are overrepresented in philosophy at all academic levels,
apart from the professional level, where they are strongly outnumbered by their male
peers.

IV. DISCUSSION

Until now, given the lack of women in Anglophone philosophy, the discussion
regarding the representation of women in philosophy has focused mainly on the
causes that might be driving women away from philosophy.7 The results of the pre-
sent study, however, force us to shift attention to the factors that may be motivating
706 Hypatia

women to enter and persist in philosophy. Thus the first question that needs to be
addressed is: Why do so many women in Greece pursue (undergraduate and graduate)
studies in philosophy?
Furthermore, the findings of the present study force us to rethink the causes of the
poor participation of women in philosophy at the faculty level. The underrepresenta-
tion of women among philosophy faculty members in Anglophone countries is fre-
quently attributed to the low number of women at lower academic levels. In other
words, it has been argued that the underrepresentation of women in (Anglophone)
philosophy is a “pipeline problem” that can be fixed by adding more women in the
philosophy pipeline. Once gender parity is achieved at lower academic levels (and
especially at the undergraduate level), gender disparities at the end of the pipeline,
namely the faculty level, will disappear (or so it is assumed). But why are women in
Greece underrepresented at the faculty level, given that the majority of (undergradu-
ate and graduate) students in the philosophy pipeline are female? In what follows, we
will address each of these “why” questions in turn, starting from the reasons for the
overrepresentation of female students in philosophy.

WHY DO SO MANY WOMEN IN GREECE PURSUE STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY?

Women in Greece have always shown a strong preference for the humanities.
Regardless of whether there are social reasons or an intrinsic aptitude that pushes
them toward these disciplines, the fact remains: women in Greece are more likely to
pursue a degree in the humanities than a degree in the so-called STEM fields (that
is, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Evidence from the Hellenic
Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), over a period of fifteen years indicates that female
students represent between 76% and 83% of first-year undergraduate students in
humanities disciplines, but only between 39% and 42% of first-year undergraduate
students in STEM disciplines.8 Thus, given that philosophy is included in the
humanities, this could explain why female undergraduate students are overrepresented
in philosophy in Greece.
It could be objected, however, that this explanation alone is not sufficient. Philos-
ophy may be a humanities discipline, but it is also a discipline that is strongly associ-
ated with maleness. For example, Sally Haslanger and Cheshire Calhoun have
repeatedly argued that there is a conflict between the schema for “women” and the
schema for “philosophy/philosopher” (Haslanger 2008; Calhoun 2009), and Joseph
Forgas has shown that in people’s minds a philosopher is more likely to be a middle-
aged, bespectacled man than a young woman (Forgas 2011). So, why are young
women in Greece more willing than young women in Anglophone countries to pur-
sue studies in philosophy?
The most likely reason is that women in Greece are exposed to philosophy during
(both lower and upper) secondary education. More specifically, all students in both
private and public high schools in Greece are required to take one introductory course
in ancient philosophy (that is, “Anthology of Philosophical Texts”) during lower
 Simoni Iliadi, Kostas Theologou, Spyridon Stelios 707

secondary education, and one course that introduces students to the main areas of
philosophy (that is, “Principles of Philosophy”) during upper secondary education.
Moreover, senior high-school students who are interested in pursuing studies in the
humanities are also required to take the (more advanced) course “Ancient Greek:
Philosophical Logos,” which is featured in the PanHellenic exams for university
admission. This course combines philosophy with philology, and introduces students
to selected works of Plato (Protagoras and The Republic) and Aristotle (Nicomachean
Ethics and Politics) in ancient Greek. Finally, the Greek high-school curriculum
includes two elective philosophy courses offered to high-school seniors, namely
“Philosophical Problems” and “Logic: Theory and Practice.”
But how can the teaching of philosophy at the secondary level make young
women in Greece more willing to pursue studies in philosophy? Given that women’s
first encounter with philosophy in Greece takes place in high-school classrooms with
(usually) female philosophy instructors,9 most of the conditions that have been
assumed to drive young women in Anglophone countries away from philosophy (for
example, lack of familiarity with the subject, majority-male philosophy experts, lack
of female role models, male-dominated philosophy classrooms, male schema for “phi-
losophy/philosopher,” “chilly” climate, stereotype threat) are less likely to be met.10
Consequently, female high-school students in Greece develop an altogether different
perception of philosophy (that is, as a familiar subject that is not unsuitable for—or
hostile to—women), so this might be why they are more willing to pursue it in col-
lege.
At this point it could be objected that secondary-level exposure to philosophy
may explain why female students in Greece are more willing to study some philoso-
phy in college, but it doesn’t actually explain why they decide to major or to pursue
graduate studies in philosophy. After all, even if young women in Greece enter college
with the perception that philosophy is a familiar and female-friendly (or at least not
antifemale) discipline, doesn’t the fact that the vast majority of philosophy experts in
academia are male change their perception of the field?
First, we are not sure if the low numbers of women in philosophy at the faculty
level alone is enough to alter female students’ perception of the field. For example,
female students would still perceive philosophy as a familiar subject. In fact, com-
pared to the other subjects that are offered as majors in Greek philosophy depart-
ments (for example, psychology, education, social studies, history of science),
philosophy is the only one that female students have enough precollege experience
in, so they might feel more prepared to major in it. What’s more, women are less
likely to feel uncomfortable or threatened in environments where there are many
women. Thus, given that women constitute the majority of students in Greek philos-
ophy departments, female students might continue to perceive the philosophy class-
room as a safe and welcoming intellectual environment, despite the fact that their
instructor is in this case (most likely) a male—instead of a female—philosopher.
However, even if we assume that female students’ perception of philosophy changes
gradually once they enter college (and this is a matter that requires further research),
our data still indicate that in Greece the majority of students who pursue philosophy
708 Hypatia

as their main subject at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels are female.
So why do female students in Greece persist in philosophy, despite the obvious lack
of female philosophers in academia? The teaching of philosophy at the secondary
level may once again be the reason.
More specifically, studies have shown that women are more likely (a) to major in
subjects that they consider useful in terms of getting a job (Dougherty, Baron, and
Miller 2015), and (b) to pursue careers in fields where they can have an impact on
other people’s lives (Calhoun 2015). In these respects, philosophy may be considered
an impractical major and career choice for female students in Anglophone countries.
Even if they believed that they could make a difference in other people’s lives
through teaching philosophy, given the underrepresentation of females among aca-
demic philosophers, they might be discouraged by the fact that it would be hard for
them either to get a job or to advance in such a male-dominated environment. In
Greece, however, female students may be able—at least in principle—to accomplish
both goals by persisting in the field. This is because the teaching of philosophy in
Greece is not limited to the (male-dominated) university domain, but it is also part
of (female-dominated) secondary education. So female students in Greece who con-
sider majoring (and pursuing a teaching career) in philosophy may not be discouraged
by the fact that the majority of academic philosophers in Greece are male, because
academic teaching is not their only option; they can continue in philosophy and
become high-school instructors.
To sum up, the teaching of philosophy at the secondary level may not only lead
to the perception that philosophy is a familiar and female-friendly (or at least not
antifemale) discipline, but also to the perception that it is useful to women for
achieving their career goals.11 Accordingly, this might explain female students’ com-
mitment to philosophy across the educational pipeline. However, if that is the case,
how can the decline in the proportion of women between the undergraduate (72%)
and the graduate (62%) levels be explained?
Evidence from the Hellenic Statistical Authority suggests that the drop in the pro-
portion of women between the undergraduate and the graduate levels is neither
unique to philosophy nor more severe in philosophy compared to the other humani-
ties disciplines in Greece (that is, Greek language, foreign languages, history and
archaeology, theology). For example, in the academic year 2015–16, namely the year
we conducted our study, women comprised 76% of all undergraduate students
enrolled in the other humanities disciplines (ELSTAT 2015a), but they comprised
59% of all graduate students (ELSTAT 2015b). So, why do some women in all
humanities disciplines drop out of the pipeline once they complete their bachelor’s
degrees?
First, a large majority of women who earn humanities degrees work (or intend to
work) as teachers in public or private high schools. For example, in 2014, women
constituted 84% of full-time humanities teachers in lower secondary education
(ELSTAT 2014c), and 77% of full-time humanities teachers in upper secondary edu-
cation (ELSTAT 2014d). Thus, since having a graduate degree (master’s or doctor-
ate) is not a necessary requirement to be employed as a secondary-school teacher in
 Simoni Iliadi, Kostas Theologou, Spyridon Stelios 709

Greece, some women may opt for entering the workforce immediately after gradua-
tion, instead of pursuing a more advanced (and perhaps time-consuming) degree in
the humanities.12 Second, it is quite common for women in Greece who are between
the ages of twenty-five and twenty-nine to get married and/or have children.13
Accordingly, given the lack of university support for expectant parents or students
with children, it is reasonable to assume that some women (in all academic disci-
plines and thus in the humanities) give up on their studies once they complete their
bachelor’s degrees, either because they start a family, or because they want to enter
the workforce early so that they can afford to start a family.
In light of the above points, the drop in the proportion of women in philosophy
between the undergraduate and the graduate levels might not signal women’s lack of
commitment to philosophy, but merely their lack of interest (or motivation) for pursu-
ing a graduate education altogether. That being said, more research is needed in
order to determine the proportion of women who have both majored in philosophy
and pursued a graduate degree, but in a field other than philosophy.

WHY ARE WOMEN IN GREECE UNDERREPRESENTED IN PHILOSOPHY AT THE FACULTY LEVEL?

The striking overrepresentation of women at both the undergraduate and the gradu-
ate levels makes their low participation at the faculty level even more mysterious,
since it clearly cannot be attributed to the low flow of women in the philosophy
pipeline.14 So how should we explain the fact that the proportion of women in phi-
losophy in Greece drops dramatically between the graduate (62%) and the faculty
level (29%)?
One possible explanation for this could be that most women in Greece study phi-
losophy to become high-school teachers, not academic professors. So it could be
argued that for the majority of women pursuing undergraduate and graduate philoso-
phy degrees in Greece, the end of the pipeline is not the faculty level (as one might
mistakenly assume), but secondary-level education, where women are indeed overrep-
resented among high-school teachers. Given that there are many possible reasons for
women preferring to be employed in secondary education compared to academia (for
example, more female-friendly and less competitive working environment, fewer
working hours and work-related trips, being closer to students, better work-family bal-
ance), this explanation certainly has merit.
However, if that were the sole reason for women’s underrepresentation in philoso-
phy at the faculty level, namely that the majority of female philosophy graduates self-
select out of academia because they prefer to become secondary-school teachers, then
one would expect to find a similar drop in the proportion of women between the
graduate and the faculty level in the other humanities disciplines as well, given that
these subjects (that is, Greek language, foreign languages, history, theology) are also
part of the Greek high-school curriculum. But evidence from the Hellenic Statistical
Authority indicates that this is not the case. Interestingly, women in other humani-
ties fields comprise, on average, 59% of graduate students (ELSTAT 2015b), and
710 Hypatia

51% of faculty members (ELSTAT 2015c).15 So why are women in philosophy more
likely to leave academia?
We can think of two possible reasons (both of which merit empirical investigation
in future research). The first one is that the majority of women who enter philosophy
graduate programs with the intention to complete a doctoral degree and pursue a fac-
ulty career encounter barriers during their graduate studies that force them to reevalu-
ate—and ultimately give up on—their initial career goals. Studies have shown that
there are many factors that make it difficult for students, and especially for female stu-
dents, to complete advanced degrees. Lack of financial support, lack of encourage-
ment, under- or over-supervision, feelings of isolation, unwanted sexual advances, loss
of self-confidence, lack of childbirth and pregnancy policies, and problems balancing
research and family-care responsibilities are some of the key factors that deter female
students from completing their doctorates (Moyer, Salovey, and Casey-Cannon 1999;
National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of
Medicine 2007; Royal Society of Chemistry 2008). However, important though these
factors are, we don’t have reasons to believe that they influence more—or that they
are more intense for—women in philosophy compared to women in other humanities
disciplines. So there must be some additional factor that makes it more likely for
women in philosophy to leave academia.
One obvious difference between philosophy and other humanities disciplines is
the fact that philosophy is heavily male-dominated at the faculty level, and this
might influence female philosophy graduate students in a number of ways. First, dur-
ing the critical years of graduate school when female philosophy students are wonder-
ing whether they can combine motherhood and an academic career in philosophy
(or whether they will be forced to sacrifice one for the other), they have fewer suc-
cessful female role models to look up to than their female peers in other humanities
disciplines. Second, the lack of women in philosophy faculty could lead female phi-
losophy graduate students to believe that there is a “glass ceiling” for women in phi-
losophy, and that academic philosophy is just for men. This means that although
female philosophy graduate students in Greece might be free of a “male philosopher”
schema due to their high-school exposure to philosophy, they might not be free of a
“male academic philosopher” schema due to the severe underrepresentation of women
in academic philosophy. Third, the fact that philosophy faculty members are predom-
inantly male could lead female philosophy graduate students to believe that it would
be disproportionately difficult for them to get hired and advance in academia. All of
the above might make the prospect of an academic career less appealing to women
in philosophy, so this could be the reason that they are more likely to (reevaluate
their career goals during graduate school and thus) leave academia.
The second possible reason that women in philosophy are more likely to leave
academia is that they face more severe barriers when they try to enter academia than
their female peers in other humanities disciplines. First of all, philosophy is a small
academic discipline. So, given that there are fewer permanent faculty positions in
philosophy compared to other humanities disciplines in Greece,16 the competition
among doctoral graduates for a faculty position in philosophy is fiercer to begin with
 Simoni Iliadi, Kostas Theologou, Spyridon Stelios 711

(all other things being equal). Second, Eric Schwitzgebel and Carolyn Jennings have
suggested that women are better represented in some areas of philosophy (for exam-
ple, moral, political, social, feminist) instead of others (Schwitzgebel and Jennings
2017). So if women in Greece tend to specialize in subject areas that are (wittingly
or unwittingly) marginalized in Greek philosophy departments’ curricula17 and/or are
rarely sought by hiring philosophy departments in Greece, then female philosophy
doctoral graduates have in principle fewer chances of entering academia. Finally,
given women’s low participation in philosophy faculty, women are more likely to be
severely underrepresented in—or even totally absent from—philosophy departments’
selection committees. And if the members of a mostly male selection committee are
more likely to hold a “male philosopher” schema, and thus to consider male candi-
dates as a better “fit” for the department, female philosophy doctoral graduates have
fewer chances of actually being hired.
To sum up, the striking overrepresentation of female students in philosophy at
both the undergraduate and the graduate levels makes the lack of female participa-
tion in philosophy faculty not only a matter of concern, but also a matter requiring
further investigation. The results of this study indicate that we should examine the
pipeline between graduate school and job entry more closely in order to determine the
reasons that women in philosophy are more likely to opt out or to be “forced” out of
academia than their female peers in other humanities disciplines. Moreover, our find-
ings suggests that although interventions at lower levels (for example, at the sec-
ondary-school level or early at the undergraduate level) are indeed necessary if
Anglophone countries want to increase the number of women in the philosophy
pipeline, these interventions alone might not narrow the gender gap at the faculty
level (as many might believe). The case of Greece shows that special attention must
also be paid to the barriers experienced by women in philosophy at higher academic
levels, because they might be doing more damage than many have assumed.

V. CONCLUSION: LESSONS LEARNED AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

The present study has led to many valuable insights regarding the representation of
women in philosophy. First, our findings indicate that the underrepresentation of fe-
male students in philosophy is not a universal phenomenon, since female students in
Greece are overrepresented in philosophy at both the undergraduate and the graduate
levels. This might imply that there is nothing intrinsic in philosophy that pushes
females away, and that the causes of female students’ poor representation in Anglo-
phone philosophy should be looked for elsewhere, such as in the way that female stu-
dents in Anglophone countries perceive philosophy. We argued that the teaching of
philosophy at the secondary level may lead to an altogether different perception of
philosophy (that is, as a familiar, female-friendly, and useful subject), and therefore
motivate female students not only to enter, but also to persist in philosophy. If our
hypothesis is correct and philosophy teaching in high school is the main reason for
female students’ overrepresentation in philosophy in Greece, then one would expect
712 Hypatia

to find similar results in other European countries where philosophy is included as a

mandatory course in the high-school curriculum (of course, the same might also be
true in countries where philosophy is included as an elective course in the high-school
curriculum). Therefore, we urge researchers from these countries to conduct studies
on the gender composition of students in their departments of philosophy in order to
test our hypothesis.
Moreover, our findings indicate that the underrepresentation of women in philoso-
phy at the faculty level is not a problem unique to Anglophone philosophy. Women
comprise, on average, 51% of faculty members in other humanities disciplines in
Greece, but they comprise only 29% of philosophy faculty members. Since, in the
case of Greece, the lack of female philosophers in academia cannot be attributed to
the low number of female students in the philosophy pipeline, more research is
needed in order to understand the reasons that women in philosophy are more likely
to opt out or to be “forced” out of academia than their female peers in other humani-
ties disciplines.

NOTES

We would like to thank the registrars’ offices and the heads of philosophy departments in
Greece for sending the requested information. Special thanks are also due to Chrysseis
Caroni, professor of mathematics at the National Technical University of Athens, for her
valuable advice on the statistical analysis of the data. Last, but certainly not least, we are
thankful to the two anonymous reviewers at Hypatia for their helpful comments and sug-
gestions on previous versions of the manuscript.
1. Given that women’s willingness to pursue studies (and concomitantly a career) in
philosophy can be influenced by context-dependent factors (for example, the place of philos-
ophy in the high-school curriculum, the career prospects of philosophy graduates, schemas
for “women” and for “philosophy/philosopher”), this is a question worth asking.
2. However, it is important to note that all students enrolled in these five under-
graduate programs, even those who don’t select philosophy as their main subject, are re-
quired to complete a number of philosophy courses in order to earn their bachelor’s
degrees. More specifically, all undergraduate students are required to take: at least seven
philosophy courses if they are enrolled in the Department of Philosophy, Education, and
Psychology (UoA or UoI), at least six philosophy courses if they are enrolled in the
Department of Philosophy and Education (AUTH), at least seven philosophy courses if
they are enrolled in the Department of Philosophy and Social Studies (UoC), and at
least twelve philosophy courses if they are enrolled in the Department of Philosophy and
History of Science (UoA). Thus, in these five departments, even though only the under-
graduate students that have declared a major in philosophy are, strictly speaking, under-
graduate students in philosophy, all enrolled students are expected to study some
philosophy in order to graduate.
3. As Table 1 shows, the Department of Philosophy and History of Science (UoA)
is the only department in Greece where male philosophy students outnumber their female
counterparts. One possible explanation for this could be that whereas graduates from the
 Simoni Iliadi, Kostas Theologou, Spyridon Stelios 713

other five philosophy departments in Greece are certified to teach—apart from philosophy
—both Greek language and history courses at the secondary level, graduates from the Phi-
losophy and History of Science department are certified to teach only philosophy and his-
tory courses at the secondary level. So this department might be considered by young
women as offering a less straightforward path toward secondary-level teaching. Another
possible explanation could be that this department specializes in philosophy of science,
namely an area in philosophy that could be perceived as more masculine, given that it
focuses mostly on problems arising from physical and mathematical sciences. Both of these
hypotheses merit investigation in future research.
4. Based on evidence from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT 2015a;
2015b), we calculated that in the academic year 2015–16 there were 254,029 students
enrolled at Greek universities who were pursuing (undergraduate or graduate) studies in
other subjects. Of them 110,991 (or 44%) were male and 143,038 (or 56%) were female.
5. At this point it could be objected that the data presented in Table 1 reflect only
a snapshot of female students’ participation in philosophy in Greece, and this snapshot
might not be representative of female students’ participation in philosophy over time. For
example, it could be the case that female students were poorly represented in philosophy
before the academic year 2015–16. To respond to this objection, we again contacted the
registrars’ offices and heads of philosophy departments in Greece and requested data
regarding the number and gender distribution of philosophy students in their departments
in the academic years 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15. Of the six philosophy departments in
Greece, four departments sent us the additional data we requested. Three departments,
namely the Department of Philosophy (UPatras), the Department of Philosophy and
Social Studies (UoC), and the Department of Philosophy, Education, and Psychology
(UoI), sent data regarding the gender distribution of philosophy students at both the
undergraduate and the graduate levels, and the Department of Philosophy and Education
(AUTH) sent data regarding the gender distribution of philosophy students only at the
graduate level. Based on these data, we calculated that in these four departments, female
students comprised, on average, 74% of philosophy students in the academic year 2012–13,
72% of philosophy students in the academic year 2013–14, and 71% of philosophy students
in the academic year 2014–15, and they comprised 71% of philosophy students in the aca-
demic year 2015–16 (a fact that suggests that our snapshot is indeed representative of
female students’ participation in philosophy over time). Moreover, the fact that female stu-
dents made up 58% of all students who were enrolled at Greek universities in the aca-
demic year 2012–13 (ELSTAT 2012a; 2012b), 57% of all students who were enrolled at
Greek universities in the academic year 2013–14 (ELSTAT 2013a; 2013b), and 57% of
all students who were enrolled at Greek universities in the academic year 2014–15
(ELSTAT 2014a; 2014b) suggests that female students were overrepresented in philosophy
(at least in four out of the six philosophy departments in Greece) not only in the aca-
demic year 2015–16, but over the last several years.
6. Based on evidence from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT 2015c), we
calculated that in the academic year 2015–16 there were 769 faculty members in all the
other humanities disciplines (that is, Greek language, foreign languages, history and
archaeology, theology). Of them 380 (or 49%) were male and 389 (or 51%) were female.
714 Hypatia

7. For an excellent review and taxonomy of the hypotheses that have been proposed
to explain the underrepresentation of women in Anglophone philosophy, see Dougherty,
Baron, and Miller 2015.
8. Data by year available at: http://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED33/
2015.
9. High-school philosophy courses can be taught in Greece not only by philosophy
graduates, but also by Greek-language graduates, and by history and archaeology graduates.
Thus, based on data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority, we calculated that in 2014
women constituted 86% of full-time teachers in lower secondary education who were certi-
fied to teach philosophy (ELSTAT 2014c), and 78% of full-time teachers in upper secondary
education who were certified to teach philosophy (ELSTAT 2014d).
10. For a detailed discussion of how precollege exposure to philosophy can lead to
more gender-neutral (or woman-affirmative) schemas for “philosophy/philosopher,” reduce
stereotype threat, and improve the disciplinary climate, see Schouten 2016.
11. At this point it is worth noting that female students in Greece would probably
perceive philosophy as useful even if philosophy courses were removed from the high-
school curriculum, given that philosophy graduates in Greece are certified to teach not
only philosophy, but also history and/or Greek-language courses at the secondary level.
However, it remains an open question whether female students in Greece would pursue
philosophy as their main subject at the same rate as they do now if philosophy were no
longer part of the Greek high-school curriculum. To determine whether the prospect of
being employed as a secondary-school teacher is a sufficient condition to attract women to
philosophy, it would be helpful to have data regarding the gender distribution of (under-
graduate and graduate) philosophy students in countries where philosophy is not part of
the national high-school curriculum, but philosophy graduates are certified to teach other
(humanities) courses at the secondary level.
12. However, humanities graduates with a master’s and/or a doctoral degree are more
likely to be employed and to earn a higher salary than those who have completed only a
bachelor’s degree, so this could explain why some women in Greece choose to continue
their studies and pursue an advanced degree.
13. Based on evidence from the Hellenic Statistical Authority collected over a per-
iod of fifteen years (2000–14), we calculated that 37% of all women who got married
within this period were between twenty-five and twenty-nine years of age (ELSTAT
2014e). Similarly, we calculated that women belonging to this age group gave birth to
29% of all children who were born within the same period (ELSTAT 2014f).
14. If the overrepresentation of female students in philosophy in Greece is a rela-
tively recent phenomenon, then the low number of women in philosophy at the faculty
level is hardly mysterious, since it can reasonably be attributed to a time lag. However,
given the reasons postulated for the gender split at the undergraduate/graduate level, and
the fact that according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority over the last fifteen years
(2001–15) women comprised between 79% and 88% of first-year undergraduate students
in Greek philosophy departments, we consider this explanation rather unlikely.
15. More specifically, in departments of Greek language, women make up 73% of
graduate students and 53% of faculty members, in departments of foreign languages
women make up 76% of graduate students and 59% of faculty members, in departments of
 Simoni Iliadi, Kostas Theologou, Spyridon Stelios 715

history and archaeology women make up 59% of graduate students and 50% of faculty
members, and in departments of theology women make up 41% of graduate students and
31% of faculty members. Consequently, philosophy is the only humanities discipline where
there is a gap of 33 percentage points between the proportion of women who are graduate
students and the proportion of women who are faculty members.
16. Based on evidence from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT 2015c), in
the academic year 2015–16 there were 247 permanent academic positions in departments
of Greek language, 226 permanent academic positions in departments of foreign languages,
176 permanent academic positions in departments of history and archaeology, and 120
permanent academic positions in departments of theology, but there were only 76 perma-
nent philosophy positions in Greek departments of philosophy.
17. It is noteworthy that feminist philosophy, for example, is (almost) completely
absent from Greek philosophy departments’ curricula.

REFERENCES

Antony, Louise. 2012. Different voices or perfect storm: Why are there so few women in
philosophy? Journal of Social Philosophy 43 (3): 227–55.
Beebee, Helen, and Jennifer Saul. 2011. Women in philosophy in the UK: A report by
the British Philosophical Association and the Society for Women in Philosophy UK.
http://www.bpa.ac.uk/uploads/2011/02/BPA_Report_Women_In_Philosophy.pdf
Bishop, Glenys, Helen Beebee, Eliza Goddard, and Adriane Rini. 2013. Seeing the trends
in the data. In Women in philosophy: What needs to change? ed. Katrina Hutchison and
Fiona Jenkins. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Calhoun, Cheshire. 2009. The undergraduate pipeline problem. Hypatia 24 (2): 216–23.
———. 2015. Precluded interests. Hypatia 30 (2): 475–85.
Dougherty, Tom, Samuel Baron, and Kristie Miller. 2015. Female under-representation
among philosophy majors: A map of the hypotheses and a survey of the evidence.
Feminist Philosophy Quarterly 1 (1): 1–30.
ELSTAT. 2012a. ISC1. Undergraduate students by field of study (ISCED), university,
school, and department. http://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED33/2012.
———. 2012b. ISC1M. Graduate students by field of study (ISCED), university, school,
and department. http://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED33/2012.
———. 2013a. ISC1. Undergraduate students by field of study (ISCED), university, school,
and department. http://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED33/2013.
———. 2013b. ISC1M. Graduate students by field of study (ISCED), university, school,
and department. http://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED33/2013.
———. 2014a. ISC1. Undergraduate students by field of study (ISCED), university, school,
and department. http://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED33/2014.
———. 2014b. ISC1M. Graduate students by field of study (ISCED), university, school,
and department. http://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED33/2014.
———. 2014c. 01. Lower secondary education schools (gymnasia) and full-time staff by
gender, field, district, type (morning–afternoon), sector (public–private). http://www.
statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED21/2014.
716 Hypatia

———. 2014d. 01. Upper secondary education schools (lyceums) and full-time staff by
gender, field, district, type (morning–afternoon), sector (public–private). http://www.
statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED23/.
———. 2014e. 02. Marriages in Greece by age of bridegroom bride (Years 2000–2013)
(2000–2014). http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/SPO06/2014.
———. 2014f. 02. Hellas total—Live births by event year, mother’s age and child’s birth
within marriage or out of wedlock (1980-2014). http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/
publication/SPO03/2014.
———. 2015a. ISC1. Undergraduate students by field of study (ISCED), university, school,
and department. http://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED33/2015.
———. 2015b. ISC1M. Graduate students by field of study (ISCED), university, school,
and department. http://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED33/2015.
———. 2015c. 02.1. Faculty members by gender, field of study, university, school, and
department. http://www.statistics.gr/el/statistics/-/publication/SED33/2015.
Forgas, Joseph P. 2011. She just doesn’t look like a philosopher. . .? Affective influences
on the halo effect in impression formation. European Journal of Social Psychology 41
(7): 812–17.
Goddard, Eliza. 2008. Improving the participation of women in the philosophy profession;
Report C: Students by gender in philosophy programs in Australian Universities. http://
aap.org.au/Resources/Documents/publications/IPWPP/IPWPP_ReportC_Students.pdf
Haslanger, Sally. 2008. Changing the ideology and culture of philosophy: Not by reason
(alone). Hypatia 23 (2): 210–23.
Hutchison, Katrina, and Fiona Jenkins, eds. 2013. Women in philosophy: What needs to
change?. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Moyer, Anne, Peter Salovey, and Shannon Casey-Cannon. 1999. Challenges facing
female doctoral students and recent graduates. Psychology of Women Quarterly 23 (3):
607–30.
National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medi-
cine. 2007. Beyond bias and barriers: Fulfilling the potential of women in academic science
and engineering. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.
Papineau, David. 2015. Snookered. The Times Literary Supplement, July 15.
Paxton, Molly, Carrie Figdor, and Valerie Tiberius. 2012. Quantifying the gender gap: An
empirical study of the underrepresentation of women in philosophy. Hypatia 27 (4):
949–57.
Ratcliffe, Rebecca, and Claire Shaw. 2015. Philosophy is for posh, white boys with trust
funds—why are there so few women? The Guardian, January 5.
Royal Society of Chemistry. 2008. The chemistry PhD: The impact on women’s retention.
https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/uploads/wise/files/archive/the_chemistry_phdwomen
sretention_tcm18-139215.pdf.
Schouten, Gina. 2016. Philosophy in schools: Can early exposure solve philosophy’s gen-
der problem? Hypatia 31 (2): 275–92.
Schwitzgebel, Eric, and Carolyn Dicey Jennings. 2017. Women in philosophy: Quantita-
tive analysis of specialization, prevalence, visibility, and generational change. Public
Affairs Quarterly 31 (2): 83–105.