Activities for the Promotion of Gender Equality in Japan—Physical Society of Japan

Abstract

The Gender Equality Promotion Committee of the Physical Society of Japan (JPS) was established as a result of the First International IUPAP Conference on Women in Physics (Paris, 2002). It is a gender‐balanced team of 12 full members and a group of net‐commentators. The former chairperson of the committee, Masako Bando, was selected to be the president of JPS between September 2006 and August 2007. Based on the survey on the present status of the gender equality and the research environment of the JPS members in 2001, JPS advanced two recommendations to the governmental authorities, academic institutes, and organizations: for flexible childcare supports and for improved research granting systems for post‐doctoral fellows and part‐time researchers in August 2003. Now these activities have become nationwide with the establishment in October 2002 of the Japan Inter‐Society Liaison Association Committee for Promoting Equal Participation of Men and Women in Science and Engineering (EPMEWSE). It has 44 member societies, including 19 observers, from various academic fields. An extended survey was carried out by EPMEWSE in November 2003; 20,000 respondents revealed diverse visions of scientists and engineers. These activities effectively help foster public understanding and awareness of the state of women in physics, especially among policy‐making authorities. In 2005 the Cabinet is drawing up two Basic Plans for 2006–2010: the Science and Technology Basic Plan for the third term and the Basic Plan for the Gender‐Equal Society for the second term. To attract girls into science and engineering, JPS is organizing the Girls Science Summer School to be held in August 2005 in collaboration with the National Women Education Center and EPMEWSE.