"Akahara" Keeping Female Scientists Down

[Mulboyne]

[Mulboyne]

ScienceCareers.org: Getting Women Scientists Back on the Career Track in Japan

...Next month, Japan's government will launch a new category of grants open only to parents returning to the scientific workforce after extended childrearing breaks. It is part of a package of initiatives that also includes grants for institutions to develop schemes to help women balance research careers and family life. The underlying objective--set out in a draft 5-year policy plan--is to have women claim 25% of all new science and engineering positions at governmental institutions...But many worry that the measures will barely dent the formidable bar riers that women face. A shortage of daycare facilities and a tradition of long working hours make research careers difficult for mothers with young children. The biggest challenge may be raising the consciousness of senior--primarily male--administrators. Labs and universities "are far from ever thinking of what it takes to be a mother and a scientist," says Kuniko Inoguchi, minister of gender equality and social affairs and a former professor at Sophia University in Tokyo.

The Japanese government has taken up the gauntlet out of embarrassment, not chivalry. In 2004, women made up only 11.1% of the scientific workforce, the lowest proportion among the 30 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (Portugal has the highest rate, more than 40%; the U.S. f igure is 26%.) "This is a very dubious honor for Japan," says Akira Kawamoto, director for science and technology policy in the cabinet office. The percentage of women scientists has remained low despite rising achievement. In 2004, women made up 23% of those enrolled in science and engineering doctoral programs, up from less than 15% in 1995. Yet few women find permanent academic jobs. At Japan's national universities, the proportion of women holding associate professorships is stuck at about 10%...more...

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Female researchers receive lower pay, fewer promotions

Seven in 10 female researchers in science and engineering fields feel there is a gender gap in promotion, compensation and other workplace treatment, a survey has found. Nearly half of their male counterparts acknowledge a discrepancy, according to the survey by Japan Inter-Society Liaison Association Committee for Promoting Equal Participation of Men and Women in Science and Engineering (EPMEWSE). The survey was conducted between August and November 2007, with 10,349 men and 3,761 women responding. They belonged to 64 academic societies and associations, such as the Molecular Biology Society of Japan and the Japan Society of Applied Physics. Of all respondents, 54 percent worked at universities, 20 percent at public research institutions and 23 percent in the private sector.

According to the survey, 69 percent of women and 48 percent of men said a gender gap existed. The area of inequality identified by the largest number of respondents--70 percent of women and 63 percent of men--was employment opportunity. It was followed by promotion to managerial positions (women, 58 percent; men, 55 percent), promotion and pay raise (39; 33), burden of having to handle miscellaneous work (34; 23) and performance evaluation (28; 23). The survey found women in their 40s were about six years behind their male counterparts in promotion at universities. In the private sector, the gap was four years. In universities, many women in their 40s were still lecturers, while many men of similar age were already associate professors.

Difficulty of balancing work with family duties, such as child-rearing and nursing care, was a frequently cited reason for limiting women's progress. Many said their workplace did not provide enough support. Women's average annual income was about 80 percent of that of men in any age bracket. If they engage in research from the age of 25 to 64, women earn 247 million yen at universities in their lifetime and 274 million yen at corporations. The sum was more than 20 percent lower than the average for men--306 million yen at universities and 332 million yen in the private sector. The survey found female researchers were at a disadvantage in their research funds as well.