For the next 18 months, the Eindhoven University of Technology is opening vacancies for academic staff exclusively to women, the executive board informed employees and students. The university hopes that this measure will result in one in five of its professors being women by next year, NU.nl reports.

The measure, which forms part of the Irene Curie Fellowship, will take effect on July 1st. An additional budget of 100 thousand euros will be made available for each new employee for their own research, and they will each receive a mentor.

If these female-only vacancies are not filled by suitable women within 6 months, the vacancy will be placed outside the Irene Curie Fellowship program. Then too, the application committee must invite at least one man and one woman to interview.

"We attach great importance to equal rights and opportunities for women and men", Rector Frank Baaijens of the university said, according to the newspaper. "It has been known for some time that a diverse workforce functions better. It leads to better strategies, more creative ideas and faster innovation."