There is a global push to increase the number of women pursuing careers in STEM fields. This challenge was underscored at the World Assembly for Women Conference held in Tokyo this winter.
This month, to coincide with International Women’s Day, the office of global communications within the prime minister of Japan’s cabinet, hosted a webinar aimed at highlighting the gender disparity in STEM careers and to showcase accomplishments of leading females in the sector.
The panel of STEM experts was moderated by Yumiko Murakami, general partner at MPower Partners, and panelists included researchers from the MIT, University of Toronto and UNICEF.
Experts addressed the causes and potential solutions to increase the number of women who study STEM at university and who then transition to relevant fields post-graduation.
Panellists agreed that a universal barrier to mitigating the gender imbalance was largely related to mindset.
MIT’s Nergis Mavalvala called for a rebranding of STEM that includes an emphasis on social impact so young women may connect to initiatives more and can better “visualise their success”.
Likewise, University of Toronto’s Rie Kijima, who co-founded SKY Labo, advocated for near-peer mentorships so that young women can start to envision themselves as scientists. Students should also be able to connect with women currently working in STEM to form a better understanding of what those roles entail.
The University of Toronto, for example, sees students interview female STEM leaders working at large multinational corporations.
“Through their conversations, the students learn to live vicariously through the experiences of these STEM leaders,” Kijima said.
“The Japanese government is allocating more resources to universities that promote women as presidents and vice presidents”
UNICEF’s regional director for Asia Pacific, Debora Comini, emphasised early introduction to STEM careers, highlighting UNICEF’s “Skills4Girls” program for teenage girls.
Comini asserted that these efforts not only require resources, but also the support of government and implored stakeholders to advocate for increased access to STEM funding to policy makers.
Panellists also argued for a more holistic approach that should involve engaging myriad platforms, such as better engaging the home/school connection early on, finding role models in the field, launching social media campaigns, leveraging existing finding sources, and advocating for policy changes.
Keiko Okada, the director-general of the gender equality bureau in the cabinet office of the government of Japan told The PIE News, “The Japanese government is strengthening incentives by allocating more resources to universities that promote women as presidents and vice presidents, as well as working to showcase female role models employed in scientific fields to eliminate unconscious biases such as ‘women are not suited for science’.”
“Japan is committed to increasing the number of women studying and working in STEM,” she added, as well as “promoting women to the top management in these fields”.
