2:57 PM - 3:09 PM
[U11-07] Why gender balance needs for Japanese academic society?
★Invited Papers
Keywords:Gender equality, officers of academic society, international activity, population reduction society
Ranking of gender equality of Japan is 121 among 153 OECD member countries. Especially, who leading the society as decision makers such as politicians, company presidents, and professors, are at low ranks. The situation of academic societies we belong is not an exception. Here, the gender problems concerning management of academic societies are argued based on social statistics and my personal experiences.
Female Earth- and Cosmo-scientists are actively responsible for the management of academic societies in addition to the scientific research in the western countries; e. x., female are over the half of council members, including president and vice-presidents, of the world largest academic societies among geochemistry field, Geochemical Society (GS) and European Association of Geochemistry (EAG). Only four council members are female among 20 of Geochemical Society of Japan (GSJ), although two vice-presidents are female. Five are female of 18 council members of Paleoscience Society, and 2 of 20 council and 1 of 3 auditors in JpGU. There is the society having no female among officers.
The small numbers of female officers of Japanese academic society is not due to the small numbers of female society members. For example, Numbers of female members of GSJ occupy 18 % of about 870 total members. Under the situation of population reduction of Japan, the numbers of younger age members are slightly less than the elders, however, the rate of female members are increasing with becoming age younger; i. e., female members are 29 to 23 % for the members of 20s to 40s. It means that the increasing numbers of female members slows decreasing total numbers of society members. Based on the report on school basic survey (MEXT 2020), 27 % of PhD students (national universities only) are female, which is almost equal to the rate of 20s female members of GSJ. People who concern to society management have to recognize that the gender problem is a subject how academic societies and their science will survive. It is a fantasy that council comprised only of male members can solve gender problem. If minority join the management, majority may lose a part of vested rights. However, they may lose everything if they will not accept the change.
Another subject of Japanese gender problem must be intention of females. Many females abandoned to make efforts to break traditional way of women’s role in Japan, who manage families and support males in social occasions. I hope that the women who already obtain the academic position will not hesitate to contribute to the management works.
I have learned much about ways to solve gender problems from management works of international academic activities. For example, when planning a public lecture during the Goldschmidt Conference in 2016 at Yokohama, GS and EAG members suggested us to nominate the female scientist(s) as lecturers. They are always looking for the female scientists at every academic activity and the management occasion. I recognized that such a small but continuous effort would change the society. We Japanese have to make more effort to change our society for healthy academic activity and improve the gender and diversity balance.
Female Earth- and Cosmo-scientists are actively responsible for the management of academic societies in addition to the scientific research in the western countries; e. x., female are over the half of council members, including president and vice-presidents, of the world largest academic societies among geochemistry field, Geochemical Society (GS) and European Association of Geochemistry (EAG). Only four council members are female among 20 of Geochemical Society of Japan (GSJ), although two vice-presidents are female. Five are female of 18 council members of Paleoscience Society, and 2 of 20 council and 1 of 3 auditors in JpGU. There is the society having no female among officers.
The small numbers of female officers of Japanese academic society is not due to the small numbers of female society members. For example, Numbers of female members of GSJ occupy 18 % of about 870 total members. Under the situation of population reduction of Japan, the numbers of younger age members are slightly less than the elders, however, the rate of female members are increasing with becoming age younger; i. e., female members are 29 to 23 % for the members of 20s to 40s. It means that the increasing numbers of female members slows decreasing total numbers of society members. Based on the report on school basic survey (MEXT 2020), 27 % of PhD students (national universities only) are female, which is almost equal to the rate of 20s female members of GSJ. People who concern to society management have to recognize that the gender problem is a subject how academic societies and their science will survive. It is a fantasy that council comprised only of male members can solve gender problem. If minority join the management, majority may lose a part of vested rights. However, they may lose everything if they will not accept the change.
Another subject of Japanese gender problem must be intention of females. Many females abandoned to make efforts to break traditional way of women’s role in Japan, who manage families and support males in social occasions. I hope that the women who already obtain the academic position will not hesitate to contribute to the management works.
I have learned much about ways to solve gender problems from management works of international academic activities. For example, when planning a public lecture during the Goldschmidt Conference in 2016 at Yokohama, GS and EAG members suggested us to nominate the female scientist(s) as lecturers. They are always looking for the female scientists at every academic activity and the management occasion. I recognized that such a small but continuous effort would change the society. We Japanese have to make more effort to change our society for healthy academic activity and improve the gender and diversity balance.