Traditionally, gender equality in universities has often been discussed only in terms of female ratios, such as the proportion of female faculty and female students. Progress in addressing the gender gap at Japanese universities has been slow, with the proportion of female faculty still low, particularly in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
This time, Kyushu University and Tokyo University of Science (formerly Tokyo Institute of Technology) have collaborated with the University of California, San Diego as part of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Initiative for the Realization of Diversity Research Environments (survey and analysis) project to devise a method to quantitatively evaluate the achievement of a gender-equal academic climate in each department (faculty/department) of a university by comparing the number of papers published by men and women. This was compiled into a bubble chart along with the percentage of female faculty and the absolute number of female faculty, and named the "Academic Gender Equity Index (Academic_GEI)," and an evaluation was conducted on STEM-related departments at major universities in Japan, the US, and the EU.
As a result, the data revealed that US/EU universities are far more gender equal than Japanese universities. Interestingly, there was no clear correlation between the proportion of female faculty and the number of papers published. Rather, it was found that the absolute number of female faculty in a department has a significant impact on the number of papers published by female faculty. In other words, it is possible that building networks among women is important in promoting women's participation in the workforce.
This method, which can quantitatively evaluate the degree of gender equality achieved by each university department, is expected to be useful in creating organizations without gender bias, regardless of country. The findings of this study also suggest that achieving gender equality at universities is not enough simply to increase the proportion of female faculty, but that detailed responses tailored to the characteristics of each department (research field) are necessary.
Paper information: [International Journal of Educational Research Open] Evaluation of the Gender-Neutral Academic Climate on Campus for Women Faculty in STEM Fields
