Univ of Tokyo to increase number of female researchers, ban evening meetings

Friday 10th April, 11:24 AM JST

TOKYO —

The University of Tokyo has issued a declaration to accelerate sexual equality that calls for increasing the recruitment of female researchers and in principle bans all official meetings after 5 p.m. The move is intended to discourage women from quitting their jobs to look after their children and to encourage men to get involved in raising families, according to the university.

The university, considered one of the best higher learning institutions in Japan, has set a target of raising the ratio of women among full-time researchers to at least 25% by March 2010 from around 9% now. Some faculty members say it will be impossible to follow the ban on evening meetings, given that some official meetings are held after lectures that do not finish until just before 5 p.m. The university’s sexual equality office suggested meetings during lunch breaks and speeding up meetings.

› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 21 Total Comments Show All

saborichan at 12:46 PM JST - 10th April

I don't think the idea is that women only should be finished by five, but men too. They want them involved in parenting, the article says.
outofmydepth at 01:31 PM JST - 10th April

yes!!!　men should be finishing up on time as well. there are many possiblities for meetings. maybe even one a month, a week. there are way too many people staying for the wrong reasons. let`s get both parents involved in child-rearing - stop those "voluntary/mandatory" every night meetings and then going out hoisting a few.
timeon at 01:31 PM JST - 10th April

favoring the females during the selection process for a position in order to "accelerate sexual equity" is plain nonsense, and amounts exactly the same as rejecting a candidate for being a female. It's plain sexual discrimination, just "reversed". For whatever reason I always thought the best candidate should be selected, regardless of sex or whatever. At least in science, the researchers have to work hard. Because it's tough competition, and wasting the taxpayer's money is not an option. It's very difficult to have a "normal" family life as a researcher, but we make efforts (both guys and girls) and somehow make ends meet.
ronaldk at 01:46 PM JST - 10th April

This is one of the best ideas I have ever heard in my life. Evening meetings are all BS anyways, we know it, they know it, now it is official. Look at a US campus; the professors have leisure time to kill and are usually sipping wine by 4:30.
timorborder at 02:06 PM JST - 10th April

Speeding up meetings? Thanks to the Delegation from the Planet Zog for that rocket science, what an earth-shattering suggestion (not). This is Japan, the land of the long (endless) meeting. We have all experienced those long Friday afternoon meetings that are like a trip to the dentist's chair without novacane. I don't see any way that "meeting" "short" and "Japan" can be put in the same sentence.
soldave at 02:15 PM JST - 10th April

Sounds like the hostess clubs are going to start having early happy hours!
ronaldk at 02:24 PM JST - 10th April

I once sat through an 11 hour meeting that started in the morning and was planned to last 1.5 hours. As the hours progressed and I started to think "WTF is going on, did I land in the Twilight Zone?" the Japanese said nothing and continued following the lead of the guy who was leading the meeting. I was thinking in my mind how many ways I would like to relieve him of his mortality.
dennis0bauer at 03:37 PM JST - 10th April

no more izakaya meetings?
BigInJapan at 03:44 PM JST - 10th April

As if people in top US institutions go home by 5 pm.. Give me a break. In better places 70-80 hours / week is required and expected workload even there.
pawatan at 03:48 PM JST - 10th April

Meetings after 5pm are ludicrous and there's no excuse for them. Work is one thing, but a meeting should be between normal working hours.

Work/life balance needs to be discovered in these parts!
saborichan at 03:58 PM JST - 10th April

It's also about image. If venerable Todai is looking towards work / life balance - and the implication of getting more done with less stufffing around - it could be a great influence on Japanese universities and workplaces in general.
PepinGalarga at 08:50 PM JST - 10th April

University of Tokyo = Tokyo University?
PaulieWalnuts at 09:48 PM JST - 10th April

teachers and deans across the country will be rejoicing. more special tea and relaxation rooms to prepare
smithinjapan at 11:39 PM JST - 10th April

saborichan: "I don't think the idea is that women only should be finished by five, but men too. They want them involved in parenting, the article says."

The article says a lot of things, so do the people who are making the decision. Ultimately I think either way less evening meetings is good, but I think it's all just for show. They'll replace it by denying people lunch breaks (or rushing them, either way it's not good for the body), or having more morning meetings earlier (which means leaving the house earlier, and the family), etc.

As I said, IF men get to spend more time with the family I think that's awesome, but that's not the reason it's being implemented, and I doubt it'll be the result. I'm sure there'll be more, "Ahem... Ms. Yokota, Ms. Terashima, you can leave, but would Mr. Kurota, Mr. Yamasaki, and all the other men stay behind 'for a few minutes'?" It'll be as "illegal" to stay for after school meetings as it is to do overtime and not get paid for it. haha.
hakujinsensei at 12:14 AM JST - 11th April

setting out to increase the number of women?

reverse discrimination is not the way to increase the value of our colleges. hiring the most qualified candidate that shows a propensity to stay and make a long term contribution is.

no meetings after 5?

about time they do something about that. there is no reason to have meetings anytime other than work hours. and in this day and age, if people are communicating overseas a video conference is the appropriate solution and can easily be handled at ones home. alcohol is not a prerequisite to business. it is time for the japanese workplace to grow up.