Photo/Illutration Members of Hyogen-no-genba-chosa-dan show the findings of their survey on gender balance in the arts at a news conference in Tokyo on Aug. 24. (Misuzu Sato)

A new study has found that most judges and award winners in the art world in Japan are males, as are professors at art universities, while most of the students are females. 

That was the conclusion of a study on gender balance in the arts released on Aug. 24 by a group called Hyogen-no-genba-chosa-dan.

“We should have more women in positions where they can have a say or decision-making power,” said Kanoko Tamura, a member of the group, at a news conference that day.

The group comprises 16 artists or academics and had previously conducted a survey on harassment in the art world.

“Our study revealed the situation in which men evaluate (works), and men’s works are rated,” said Chiki Ogiue, a popular commentator who assisted in the research. “There is an unnatural situation in which women or gender minorities are sifted out and support mainly male artists as consumers.”

Hyogen-no-genba-chosa-dan had conducted a survey on harassment in the art world and identified gender imbalance as one of the reasons for the problem.

To further explore the issue, the group studied gender balance and other related topics regarding major awards in nine categories: fine arts, theater, film, literature, music, design, architecture, photo and manga, as well as at art educational institutions.

The awards they researched were given between 2011 and 2020.

The group found that overall, 77.1 percent of judges and 65.8 percent of top-prize winners were male.

For literature, 94 percent of the judges of six critique prizes were males.

For film awards, the group found that fewer prizes for commercial films were given to women compared to prizes for films made by students or newcomers.

In the fine-art category, more than 80 percent of artists who held sole exhibitions or whose works were purchased by museums were male.

For theater, in 2021, 73 percent of board members for industry associations or stage directors were male.

By contrast, for novels or manga (categories in which people tend to produce their works on their own), more women won awards compared to fields in which team effort is needed to produce pieces.

“The study highlighted that people in the art world are rated according to mainly male values in various stages of their career--from when they are educated to when they win prizes after becoming professionals,” said Toko Tanaka, professor of media and culture at the graduate school at the University of Tokyo.

The group also found that in 2021, 73.5 percent of students at the Tokyo University of the Arts, as well as five other art universities (Tama Art University, Musashino Art University, Tokyo Zokei University, Nihon University College of Art and Joshibi University of Art and Design) were female.

However, only 19.2 percent of the professors at the universities that year were women.

The group found for these universities, there were more male board chairs or professors, whereas assistant professors and part-time lecturers tended to be female.

“We need to discuss this issue widely based on data, not based on a vague argument, such as ‘What matters in the art world is ability (not gender),'” said Tanaka.

“This is what the group pointed out, but we shouldn’t think about this issue based on the idea there are only men and women. It is important to make our discussion a basis in society to ensure everyone in every circumstance will not be at a disadvantage," she added. "The more diverse people there are in the art world, the more attractive and the better culture and the art will become.”

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