To ease wide gender disparities, a growing number of Japan's sciences-oriented national and public universities are scrambling to attract female students by enacting admission quotas.

Only five institutions had such affirmative action programs for women in their admissions process when the current freshmen class took college entrance exams.

Now, the number of universities introducing a quota for more female enrollees jumped to 14 for the academic year starting in April.

The trend will likely accelerate in the coming years. 

More than 40 percent of universities surveyed embrace affirmative action for female students, according to a joint survey by The Asahi Shimbun and Kawaijuku, operator of a leading cram school chain.

But Hiromi Yokoyama, a professor of science communication at the University of Tokyo and author of the book “Naze Rikei ni Josei ga Sukunainoka?” (Why are there so few women in science?), opposes the trend.

She said such an emphasis could further fuel the misperception that women are not good at the sciences, a key reason that female students tend to choose other studies despite their good academic records in the area.

Women represent 46 percent of overall undergraduate students in Japan, according to statistics for fiscal 2023.

But the ratio sharply drops regarding the sciences and engineering. Women account for only 28 percent of undergraduate students in the sciences and 16 percent in engineering.

These figures are substantially low even by international standards.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the proportion of Japanese female undergraduates who major in the sciences or engineering fields is 7 percent in 2019, compared with an OECD average of 15 percent.

Behind this, experts say, is that Japanese girls’ view of the sciences tends to be influenced by the widespread perception shared by teachers, parents and many others in society that women do not fare well in this academic field.

As a result, many women feel discouraged from entering the discipline.

However, studies have repeatedly shown that a research team comprising members with diverse backgrounds achieve better results than a team without. 

A 2016 report from the Development Bank of Japan said that the economic value of patents developed by teams involving women is about 1.4 times higher than those by all-male teams.

The Tokyo Institute of Technology is one of the national universities introducing a quota for women from this spring.

The selective institution has hosted lectures and has sent recruiters to visit numerous high schools over the past years to woo female students and reduce its significant gender imbalance in enrollment.

But the effort has not paid off. The ratio of women remains more or less the same as before, according to Jun-ichi Imura, executive vice president of the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

“We cannot expect much if we adhere to the same approach,” Imura said for starting the affirmative action program. “Studying on campus with a diverse student body will be beneficial for male students as well.”

School officials have set a 20 percent target or more of women among undergraduates, up from the current about 13 percent.

A move to try to raise the percentage of female students on campus is fast spreading across Japan, according to the joint survey “Hiraku Nihon no Daigaku” (Opening Japanese universities) compiled by the Asahi and Kawaijuku.

In the survey, conducted between June and August in 2023, 643 of 778 universities contacted responded.

While 23 percent of university presidents said they intend to increase overall female enrollment among undergraduates, 20 percent said they will seek to do so for faculties where the gender gap is large.

Thirty-six percent replied that they will maintain the current status.

Of the schools leaning toward gender-conscious admissions, 38 institutions either have a program already in place or have decided to introduce one, including 16 national and three public universities, according to the survey.

Universities focusing on the sciences or some university faculties with a significant underrepresentation of women have voiced a sense of crisis over the gender disparities.

“We are hoping to achieve an environment with diversity by solving a considerable gap in the male-female ratio,” said an official with the Kitami Institute of Technology in Hokkaido, where the ratio of female undergraduates is only 10 percent. 

In Tokyo, Shibaura Institute of Technology supports the goal for more women on campus, saying, “Promoting diversity is essential for society’s progress.”

A key factor behind the trend to adopt an affirmative action program is the growing demand for female researchers and female technology experts from business circles. 

An official with Niigata Institute of Technology said companies are eager to hire more female staffers with technology expertise. 

“Businesses and society expect more female college graduates with knowledge and skills in the scientific fields,” said a University of Miyazaki official.

The government also is moving to remedy the extremely low representation of female undergraduates in the sciences.

The Council for Creation of Future Education, chaired by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, called for the ratio of female college students in the sciences to be raised to 30 percent or so by around 2032 in a report published in May 2022. 

Each university adopts its own program to select female students for the quota by evaluating the results of standardized entrance examinations, interviews, its entrance examinations and other admission processes.

Yokoyama of the University of Tokyo warned that affirmative action giving preference to women tend to fall under the assumption that successful candidates have been admitted due to their gender, not their academic credentials. 

She noted that OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment survey for 15-year-old students worldwide for 2022 found that Japanese girls’ average mathematics and science literacy scores were higher than those of British and American boys.

Japanese girls also did almost as well as their male counterparts, according to the PISA survey.

“Female students seeking to go into science fields encounter various forms of discouragement early in their life,” Yokoyama said. “What they need is support to help them become confident about their academic pursuits.”

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National and public universities to introduce quotas for female enrollees from 2024

*National universities

Kitami Institute of Technology: Faculty of Engineering

Tokyo Institute of Technology: School of Materials and Chemical Technology, School of Computing, School of Environment and Society, School of Life Science and Technology

The University of Electro-Communications: School of Informatics and Engineering

The University of Toyama: Faculty of Engineering

Kanazawa University: College of Science and Engineering

The University of Yamanashi: Faculty of Engineering

Nagoya University: School of Engineering

Nagoya Institute of Technology: Faculty of Engineering

Shimane University: Faculty of Materials for Energy

Kumamoto University: School of Informatics

Oita University: Faculty of Science and Technology

The University of the Ryukyus: Faculty of Engineering

*Public universities

The University of Hyogo: School of Engineering

Kochi University of Technology: School of Data & Innovation

(Data from the education ministry)