Project Overview

International comparisons of initiatives contributing to resolving the "Leaky Pipeline" faced by female researchers

The "leaky pipeline" phenomenon, in which female researchers "leak" out from their career path as they build on their research, is a grave problem that needs to be resolved. The purpose of our project is to study and analyze why women "leak" out of their research careers at various stages of their career path, the types of steps needed to prevent that from happening, and to present policy recommendations. We study examples at overseas universities implementing progressive initiatives to promote women's advancement and present effective initiatives in line with our country's situation.

Research methods

We research progressive initiatives on promoting women's advancement at universities in Sweden, the United States, Australia, South Korea, and Singapore.

1. We research the following items:

1. Initiatives being conducted by university executive board
2. Initiatives to eliminate gender disparities in faculty selection
3. Initiatives to aggressively appoint female faculty members to managerial positions
4. Initiatives to support female postdocs
5. Initiatives to promote work-life balance

2. We conduct questionnaire surveys on the awareness of researchers and organizational culture.

Expectable outcomes

• Presentation of the reasons why female researchers "leak" out of their research careers
• Presentation of effective initiatives that are in line with the situation in Japan based on international comparisons with the U.S., European, and Asian nations
• Development of a "faculty selection manual" and "unconscious bias training program"