A Report from the Symposium of the Japan Inter-Society Liaison Association Committee for Promoting Equal Participation of Men and Women in Science and Engineering (EPMEWSE), “Career Choices of Junior High School and Senior High School Female Students”

Abstract

On Saturday, October 12, 2024, a symposium entitled “Career Choices of Junior High School and Senior High School Female Students” was held by the Gender Equality Academic Association Liaison Group at Chuo University Myogadani Campus in Tokyo. Under the theme of “Career Choices of Junior High School and Senior High School Female Students,” the discussion focused on gender bias in occupational and career choices. Japan’s gender equality index is the lowest among OECD countries, partly due to the extremely low ratio of women in technical occupations. The accelerator society of Japan is no exception. In this symposium, a discussion was held on the tangible and intangible biases in career choices, the so-called unconscious bias, as the cause of the low ratio of women in technical fields. In addition to introducing the discussions at this symposium, I would like to state that, as an accelerator society, the issue of gender equality is a major challenge that may shake the existence of the field in the future.