Column

Kaori Baba, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Law, Hokkaido University

I am a researcher specializing in comparative politics and Mexican politics. After completing my doctoral studies, I worked as a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow before joining the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Institute of Developing Economies, and have been working at Hokkaido University since 2016. My research has focused on various domestic political issues in Latin America, including civil-military relations, social welfare policies, party systems, and drug conflicts. In recent years, I have also been studying women's political participation.

When we think of countries where women's political participation is advanced, Nordic countries such as Finland and Iceland come to mind, but in recent years, an increasing number of developing countries in Africa and Latin America have also ranked highly in the percentage of female parliamentarians. Mexico is one such country, ranking 4th in the world for the percentage of female members of parliament at 50%, and achieving nearly equal numbers of men and women in the Senate with 49.2% of its members being women (see data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union).

In many countries, the introduction of quotas, which allocate a certain percentage of candidates or seats to either men or women, is a major factor in the increase in the proportion of female legislators. While there are twists and turns before effective legislation is enacted, the effects of the legislation lead to an increase in female legislators, which in turn leads to legal reforms that further encourage women's political participation, and this, in turn, leads to another increase. In Mexico, a reform called "parity" was implemented in 2019, applying parity to all levels of public institutions, including not only the legislature but also the executive and judicial branches. Although it has not yet been fully achieved, specialized public institutions monitor progress and provide recommendations and advice.

However, alongside the quota system, it is important to create an environment that encourages both men and women to balance family and work, and to work towards eliminating gender bias in society. On the other hand, an increase in the number of women can also lead to improvements in the environment and changes in societal attitudes. It can be said that the goal is to create a positive cycle by advancing both simultaneously.

The same can be said for research institutions such as universities. I believe that an increase in female researchers will change the environment, potentially creating a positive cycle that leads to even more female researchers. Therefore, I think that the fact that there are now more "women-priority" or "women-only" positions in research job postings than before can be evaluated as affirmative action. However, depending on the field, there is still a large gender gap in graduate school enrollment rates in Japan, and there seems to be a problem of a small pool of female researchers even if they want to hire them. I think that in order to increase the graduate school enrollment rate for female students, it is necessary to promote environmental improvements and changes in attitudes, even more so than the issue of female politicians.

In present-day Japan, securing a stable research position is difficult regardless of whether one's field is humanities or science, and the support system for graduate students to continue their research is insufficient. Research positions are highly competitive, and graduate school is expensive. Graduate school and postdoc periods often coincide with major life events such as marriage and childbirth, and I myself experienced childbirth and child-rearing while I was a graduate student. I felt the difficulty of the system because interrupting my JSPS Research Fellowship meant I couldn't use research funds, but at the same time, I couldn't dedicate myself to research full-time. It was also a significant burden when I began repaying the scholarship I had received since my master's program while I was still in graduate school. Furthermore, although a new daycare center was being built on campus at the time, there was no space for breastfeeding, pumping milk, or changing diapers, giving the impression that the needs of students with young children were not considered.

On the other hand, based on my own experience, I believe that it should be more widely known that research positions are a good career choice for balancing work and childcare. When I was writing my doctoral dissertation, I didn't yet have a full-time job, and I felt anxious and impatient, but being able to basically decide how to proceed with my research and allocate my time was a plus in balancing work and childcare. Since securing a full-time position, the discretionary work system and the widespread use of online tools in recent years have allowed me to switch between home and work at my own pace.

To women aspiring to a career in research, I want to convey that research positions are not unsuitable for women, but rather may be a field where they can thrive. On the other hand, anxieties about balancing research with life events are common during graduate school and postdoctoral studies, and there is an increasing need for expanded support and improved working conditions from the government and research and educational institutions. It is urgent that efforts be made to value young researchers of both genders, and I myself want to work towards positive change.

(Original article)
OPENeD, the National Diversity Network website
　→https://opened.network/
Published November 4, 2022: Kaori Baba, "To Increase the Number of Female Researchers"
　→https://opened.network/column/column-0067/