Author: Ryohko Ishikawa
Affiliation: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Country: Japan
Co-Author(s): Mari Yamaura; Mihiro Fujimori; Saeko Hayashi; Takashi Sekii; Junichi Watanabe; NAOJ Gender Equality Promotion Committee
Affiliation: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Country: Japan
Title: Promotion of Gender Equality in National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Japan’s proportion of female researchers is low, and many institutions are implementing a range of measures to improve gender balance. In this contribution, we discuss the past, present, and future of gender equality at The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), which is the largest national centre of astronomical research in Japan. We investigate the temporal change of the proportion of women in NAOJ from the graduate-student level to the senior-staff level. The number of female researchers in NAOJ is gradually increasing, but it is still low compared with other countries. Parenting support is one of the measures for the promotion of gender equality in NAOJ. The supporting system is highly valued by younger researchers irrespective of gender and significantly contributes to retain and attract young researchers to NAOJ. We also introduce the supporting system and discuss the effectiveness by providing the number of male and female users.