Report on the Results of the Initiative for Realizing Diversity in the Research Environment(Advanced Type) for FY2018–2023
Gender Quality Office, Kobe University (FY2018–2021)
Gender Equality Office, Inclusive Campus & Health Care Center (FY2022–2023)
1．Project Goals and Action Plan
By advancing this project, Kobe University aims to 1) achieve a hiring rate of 30% or more for women
researchers, 2) improve the rate of women holding higher-ranking positions, 3) increase the base ofnext-generation young researchers, and 4) enhance the diversity environment and expand it beyond
the university. Table 1 below shows the relationship between these goals and the specific initiatives(A) through (F) undertaken to meet them.
Table 1: Relationship between goals and initiatives (##: Initiative meets the goal, #: Initiative
partially meets the goal, / : N/A)
1) Achieve and 2) Improve the 3) Increase the 4) Enhance theGoals maintaina rate of women base of next- diversity
hiring rate of holding
generation
environment and
30% or more higheryoung
expandit
Initiatives
forwomen ranking
researchers
beyondtheresearchers
positions
university(A) Build a new humanresources
governance###system(B) Implement the PI
Training
Programfor##International Collaborative
Research(C)
Implement
theInternational
Human##
Resource
Exchange
Program(D)
Implement
theInternational Collaborative##
Early-career Researcher
Training Program(E) Establish the Diversity
Promotion Council*(F)
Establish
theDiversity Fund and build#####
the Diversity Co-creation
Network*Regarding the initiative “(E) Establish the Diversity Promotion Council,” the council was reorganizedeffective April 1, 2022 to form the Inclusive Campus & Health Care Center in the below figure topromote collaboration among the existing university organizations (i.e., Gender Equality Office,Medical Center for Student Health, and Campus Life Support Center) that have carried out support
activities independently from one another in the past, and to ensure they provide coordinated support
under a single supervisory organization. The Gender Equality Office (the office in charge of thisprogram) is involved in promoting gender equality at the University, supporting the work-life balance

of its members, and consultations in areas such as LGBTQI+.

President
Joint management andsupport organization within the university

Executive Assistant to
the President in Chargeof Gender Equality

Faculty Human
Resources Committee

Inclusive Campus & Healthcare Center

International
Advisory Committee
forDiversity Promotion

Inclusive Campus &Healthcare Center
Management Committee
Senior Officials’
Meeting

Executive Vice
President

Medical Center forStudent HealthOperatingmeeting

Executive Vice
President

Support Center forCampus Life
Operatingmeeting

Executive Vice
President

Gender Equality
OfficeDiversity Co-creation
Network

Operatingmeeting

Inclusive Campus & Healthcare Center Office, Student Affairs Department/Personnel and Labor Division, General
Affairs Department

2．Achievement Levels of Project Goals
1) Achieve a hiring rate of 30% or more for women researchers
The following initiatives were undertaken in the project period (FY2018–2023) to attain this goal.
i. Implement the Revised Faculty Human Resources Committee system
The Revised Faculty Human Resources Committee system has been implemented since FY2020. To
help increase the hiring and promotion of women teachers, the Executive Assistant to the President
in charge of diversity has attended the Faculty Human Resources Committee to check women’s hiringand promotion rates provided on paper and consistently advocated for improvement in these rates. In
addition to these initiatives, in FY2022, rules were established for the disclosure of information related
to retention, hiring, and promotion to ensure the dissemination of information related to advancing thehiring and promotion of women faculty. This information is published twice a year.
ii. Build a new human resources governance system
The project has fully incorporated the PDCA cycle below into the human resources governance system,
which previously only carried out “Do” and “Check,” thereby introducing a highly transparent newhuman resources governance system for advancing the hiring and promotion of women faculty.
Plan: Each department submits a hiring/promotion plan for women researchers to the Personnel
Committee.
Do: Each department submits data on the hiring, promotion, and retention rates of women
researchers to the Personnel Committee, and gains approval each time a personnel matter occurs.
Check: The Executive Vice President and the Director of the Gender Equality Office hold a meetingwith each department to review the hiring/promotion results for the previous year and thehiring/promotion plan for the current year.

Action: In the hearing with the university administration, each department submits its
hiring/promotion results and hiring/promotion plan, revises its plan if it has not been met, and gains
approval from the university administration.
In addition, since its inception, the project has requested departments with low hiring rates to hire
women researchers and has carried out faculty development activities aimed at overcoming
unconscious bias. In FY2020, a rule that gives priority to women in cases where the evaluation resultsof achievements, qualifications, and other factors are equal was added to the faculty recruitment
guidelines. When the organizational change was carried out in FY2022, instructions were given for
the revision of recruitment restricted to women and consideration of a new overall women support
package, and discussions took place regarding the distribution of incentives for departments which
had an increase in women faculty, as well as a system for hiring young women researchers. As aresult, the previous incentive spending allocation system that applied to departments that carried out
recruitment restricted to women was revised. With a base date of May 1, 2022, it was decided tocompare the number of women faculty on May 1 of each year, starting in FY2023, in the fourth midterm target period and allocate incentive spending for departments according to the increased numberof women faculty. Accordingly, 10 departments received an allocation of incentive spending in FY2023.
In addition, in FY2022, it was also decided to support the active employment of women faculty by
establishing a new quota for women in the current Young Faculty Employment Support System.
iii. Visualize the hiring, promotion, and retention rates of women faculty (publishing of actual results)
To promote the visualization of the employment and promotion of women faculty, the Gender
Equality Office publishes the hiring, promotion, and retention rates of women by academic area on
the University website.
The hiring and retention rates of women researchers from FY2018 to FY2023 are shown in Figs. 1
and 2. As shown in Fig. 1, the FY2018 actual hiring rate exceeded the target rate, but the actual rate
stayed almost flat from FY2019 to FY2023, falling short of the target rate. As shown in Fig. 2, eventhough the retention rate increased by 2.1 points from 17.1% in FY2018 to 19.2% in FY2023, theactual rate fell short of the target rate in all fiscal years.
40.0

30.0

35.0
23.3

24.0

24.4

23.9
22.1

20.0

17.1

23.9

15.0

18.0

20.0
(%)

(%)

25.3

25.0

33.2

27.6

30.0

25.0

22.8

32.5

31.4

30.0

20.4
18.6

18.8

19.2

18.1

17.2

17.1

15.0

19.2

21.7

10.0

10.0
5.0
0.0
2018

5.0

Recruitement rate （acual）
2019

2020

Recruitement rate （targetl）
2021

2022

Year

Fig. 1: Comparison of target and actual hiring rates(FY2023 data is as of October 1, 2023.)

2023

0.0
2018

Retention rate (actual)
2019

2020

Retention rate (targetl)
2021

2022

2023

Year

Fig. 2. Comparison of target and actual retention rates(FY2023 data is as of October 1, 2023.)

2) Improve the rate of women holding higher-ranking positions (promotion rate)
The following goals were set for this item.
i. Dispatch women faculty members who are associate professors or lower in rank tooverseasinstitutions under the PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research.
ii. Build an organization for overseas support.
iii. Aiming to increase the promotion rate of women researchers, achieve a promotion rate of 20% by
the final fiscal year (FY2023).
i. Implement the PI Training Program for International Collaborative ResearchThis program for women faculty members was implemented with the aim of helping women
researchers get promoted to higher positions. When the program was launched, participants were to
be dispatched to overseas research institutions for a period of six months or longer in principle.
However, since overseas travel became difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program washeld online from FY2020 to FY2022. On a related note, a member of the International Advisory
Committee for Diversity Promotion noted that given women’s life events, the age limit of 45 or younger
set for the International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program described below was
too low and should be raised. Therefore, starting in FY2023, the PI Training Program for International
Collaborative Research and International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program
were combined into a single program and implemented as the International Collaborative Researcher
Training Program.
Table 2: Results of the PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research (2018–2022)
and International Collaborative Researcher Training Program (2023) (Continued on page)(The job classifications are those at the time of receiving support.)
Job
Dispatch
Destination
Dispatch
Affiliation
Classification
PeriodCountryYear
PI Training Program for International
Collaborative Research (dispatch)
Associate
Research Center for Inland Seas
12 months
Thailand2018
Professor
Graduate School of System
Associate
12 months
Australia
2018
Informatics
Professor
Graduate School of Intercultural
Associate
6 months
Germany
2018
Studies
Professor
Assistant
Graduate School of Health Sciences
12 months
United States
2019
Professor
PI Training Program for International
Collaborative Research (online)
Assistant
Biosignal Research Center
OnlineUnited States
2020
Professor
Associate
Graduate School of Science
OnlineGermany
2021
Professor
Project
Graduate School of Medicine
Associate
OnlineUnited States
2021
Professor
Interdisciplinary Education Center,
Project
Institute for Promoting International
Associate
OnlineItaly
2021
Partnerships
Professor
Associate
Online (13Graduate School of Science
Taiwan2022–23
Professor
days)International Collaborative
Researcher Training Program(dispatch)
Graduate School of Agricultural
Science
Graduate School of Maritime
Sciences
Graduate School of Health Sciences

Assistant
Professor
Associate
Professor
Assistant
Professor

Ongoing

United Kingdom

2023–

Ongoing

Australia

2023–

Ongoing

Sweden2023–

In FY2018, the PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research – Preliminary Survey
Program was implemented. This short-term program involved dispatching faculty members for aperiod of one week to a month as preparation for long-term overseas dispatch. Support was provided
to eight recipients (four dispatched, four online) as shown in Table 3. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
this program was only held in FY2018. One individual who conducted a preliminary survey under the
program was chosen as a recipient of the International Collaborative Researcher Training Program in
FY2023. The achievements of the PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research and
the PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research – Preliminary Survey Program were
publishedontheproject
website(https://www.office.kobe-u.ac.jp/opge-kyodosankaku/diversity/index.html) at the time of research completion.
Table 3: Results of the PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research – Pre-Survey
Program (The job classifications are those at the time of receiving support.)
Job
Dispatch
Destination
Dispatch
Affiliation
Classification
PeriodCountryYear
Advanced Integrated Research
Assistant
1 weekUnited Kingdom
2018
Group
Professor
Graduate School of Economics
Instructor
2 weeks
Poland2018
Associate
Graduate School of Health Sciences
1 weekSweden2018
Professor
Associate
Graduate School of Maritime Science
1 weekSweden2018
Professor
Graduate School of Human
Associate
1 weekUnited States
2018
Development and Environment
Professor
Assistant
Biosignal Research Center
1 monthUnited States
2018
Professor
Graduate School of Agricultural
Assistant
1 weekUnited States
2018
Sciences
Professor
Graduate School of Agricultural
Assistant
1 weekUnited States
2018
Sciences
Professor
ii. Build an organization for overseas support
Regarding building an organization for overseas support, collaboration was established with Kobe
University’s overseas offices located in San Fransisco and New York in the United States and Brussels,
Dusseldorf, and London in Europe in FY2018, and in Singapore, Bangkok, and Hanoi in FY2019.
However, this could not be leveraged in FY2020 onwards due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
iii. Achieve a promotion rate of 20% for women researchers
Fig. 3 shows the rates of women researchers promoted to higher ranks in FY2018 to FY2023. The

target promotion rate of 20.0% or higher was achieved in FY2018, FY2019, and FY2023 but not in
FY2020, FY2021, and FY2022. The promotion rate varied greatly by year, ranging from a lowest of
7.32% to a highest of 33.3%. As of October 1, 2023, the total number of women researchers promoted
to higher ranks was 43, and the average rate over the project period was 16.2%.
Regarding women researchers in senior management roles, there were three (target: two) in FY2018,
four in FY2019, five in FY2020, five in FY2021, four in FY2022, and six in FY2023 as of October 1,
2023; the target set for the final year of the project (FY2023), which is four, has been met since FY2020.

35

Promotion rate (actual)
Promotion rate (targetl)
3-year simple moving average (Recruitement rate （actual）

30

(%)

25

22.0

20

21.4
16.9

14.5

15
10

13.4

33.3

14.5

14.4

9.62

7.32

5

19.2

10.5

0
2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Year

Fig. 3: Comparison of target and actual promotion rates(The chart uses a three-year moving average with data from FY2016 onwards; FY2023 data is as of
October 1, 2023.)
3) Increase the base of next-generation young researchers
The following initiatives were undertaken in the project period to achieve this goal.
i. Implement the International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training ProgramThis program was implemented with the aim of increasing the base of talented young women
researchers who can succeed internationally. When the program was launched, young women
researchers (aged 45 or younger) were to be dispatched to overseas research institutions for a periodof six months or longer in principle. However, similarly to the PI Training Program for International
Collaborative Research, overseas travel became difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so theprogram was held online from FY2020 to FY2022. In addition, as noted earlier, the program has been
implemented as the International Collaborative Researcher Training Program since FY2023. Table 4shows the results of the International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program for
FY2018 to FY2022. In total, eight individuals received support in this period; there were no applicants
in FY2021. The achievements of the International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training
Program were published on the project website (https://www.office.kobe-u.ac.jp/opge-kyodosankaku/diversity/index.html) at the time of research completion.
Table 4: Results of the International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program (2018–2022) (The job classifications are those at the time of receiving support.) (Continued on page)
Job
Dispatch
Dispatch
Affiliation
Destination Country
Classification
PeriodYear
Graduate School of
Research
2 months
Mexico2018
Intercultural Studies
Fellow

Biosignal ResearchCenterGraduate School of
System Informatics
Graduate School ofInternational Cooperation
Studies

Research
Fellow
Assistant
Professor

2 months

United States

2018

12
monthsUnited Kingdom

2018

Assistant
Professor

3 months

United States

2018

Global Education Center

Instructor

6 months

South Korea / UnitedStates2018

Graduate School ofEngineering
Graduate School of
System Informatics
Research Institute for
Economics and Business
Administration

Associate
Professor
Assistant
Professor

10monthsCanada / United States2019

5 months

France2020

OnlineSweden2022–2023

Assistant
Professor

As shown in Table 5, the International Human Resource Exchange Program dispatched fourindividuals in FY2018 and five individuals in FY2019. However, the program was not implemented in
FY2020 onwards due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The achievements have been published on the
project website (https://www.office.kobe-u.ac.jp/opge-kyodo-sankaku/diversity/index.html).
ii. Implement role model networking sessions
As part of increasing the base of young women researchers, including doctoral students, a “role model
networking session to chat with women researchers—How to build your career as a researcher who
speaks their mind” was held for natural sciences researchers in FY2022 (41 participants). A session
for social sciences researchers is scheduled to be held in FY2023.
Considering it important to continuously reach out to STEM-aspiring female junior and senior highschool students in order to increase the number of women researchers in science and engineeringrelated faculties in which women are underrepresented, the following two initiatives below are being
implemented.
(i) Open days for STEM-aspiring female junior and senior school students
http://www.office.kobe-u.ac.jp/opge-kyodo-sankaku/sp_topic/rikejo/opencampus/index.html(Japanese only)(ii) Kansai Kagakujuku for female junior and senior high school students
http://www.office.kobe-u.ac.jp/opge-kyodo-sankaku/sp_topic/rikejo/kagaku/index.html (Japanese
only)
Table 5: Results of the International Human Resource Exchange Program (The job classifications
are those at the time of dispatch.) (Continued on page)
Job
Dispatch
Dispatch
Affiliation
Destination Country
Classification
PeriodYear
Graduate School ofAssistant
Human Development and1 monthIndonesia
2018
Professor
Environment
Specially
Graduate School of
Appointed
1 monthUnited States
2018
Engineering
Assistant
Professor

Graduate School of
Human Development andEnvironment
Graduate School of Health
Sciences
Graduate School of
Economics
Graduate School of
Human Development andEnvironment
Graduate School of Health
Sciences
International Education
CenterGraduate School of Health
Sciences

Professor

2 months

United Kingdom

2018

Professor

1 monthUnited Kingdom /Sweden2018

Professor

1 monthFrance2019

Professor

1 monthIreland2019

1 monthGermany

2019

1 monthUnited Kingdom

2019

1 monthUnited Kingdom

2019

Associate
Professor
Project
Associate
Professor
Associate
Professor

4) Enhance the diversity environment and expand it beyond the university
The following goals were set for this item.
i. Adopt the Kobe University Diversity Statement and establish a structure for cooperation with external
parties.
ii. Ensure project continuity by establishing the Diversity Fund.
iii. Develop the Diversity Education Program.
i. Adopt the Kobe University Diversity Statement
Kobe University adopted the Kobe University Diversity Statement in 2018. Furthermore, Kobe
University’s Basic Principles and Guidelines for Diverse Sexualities and Genders were established in
2022.
ii. Operate the Diversity Fund (donations)
The Diversity Fund was established last fiscal year to secure the university’s independent revenue
source required to continuously and constantly implement the initiatives designed to support women
researchers in getting promoted to higher positions through overseas dispatch and other programs.
The Fund has been promoted through the university newsletter and website advertisements, andsolicitations of company donations are being carried out. The Fund has received donations amounting
to 7.01 million yen from FY2018 to date. In FY2023, the Diversity Fund was used for the International
Collaborative Researcher Training Program. As the project will end this fiscal year, there are plans tocarry out discussions in FY2023 regarding the use of the Diversity Fund from next year onwards.
iii. Develop the Diversity Education Program
The project established a co-creation network involving Kobe University and six companies, and held
discussions regarding the intended participants and contents of the Diversity Education Program. As
a result, in FY2020, the alpha version of the Diversity Education Program developed in FY2019, which
included training to overcome unconscious bias, was reviewed and upgraded to the final beta version
based on survey feedback. In FY2021, the following on and off-campus events were held for online
viewing to help achieve an inclusive society by promoting and spreading diversity.
i) June 2, 2021: Cooperative faculty meeting (20 participants)ii) July 15, 2021: Training for managersiii) July 29, 2021: Diversity Co-creation Network meeting (4 companies)iv) August 3, 2021: Diversity Co-creation Network meeting (1 company)v) January 19, 2022: Graduate School of Health Sciences FD Training (67 participants)
The Diversity Co-creation Network meeting serves as a venue to discuss the themes and lecturers for
the Kobe University Diversity Forum held each fiscal year. The project organized Diversity Forums
centered around the following themes.
FY2019: Kobe University Diversity Forum Kick-off Symposium (100 participants)
FY2020: “Promotion of Women to Higher Positions and Work Style Reform—Aiming to Create a
Workplace where Everyone Can Work with Enthusiasm” (105 participants)
FY2021: “Work-Life Balance as Seen from Men’s Childcare Leave” (105 participants)
FY2022: “Creating a Society that Respects Gender, Sex and Sexuality—Our Challenges andVisions” (96 participants)
FY2023: Initiative for Realizing Diversity in the Research Environment (Advanced Type) Project
Recap Symposium (planned)
In addition, audiovisual material for training and education activities on Kobe University’s Basic
Principles and Guidelines for Diverse Sexualities and Genders was created.
iv. Build the Diversity Co-creation Network and collaborate with companies
In FY2022, the content of the diversity lecture program to be implemented that year was discussedwith participating companies.

5) Verify the outcomes and evaluations of the overseas support programs for women researchers
Table 6 presents a comparison of annual averages of the research achievements (academic
papers, international conference presentations, acquisition of Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research(KAKENHI) (principal investigators and co-investigators treated separately), and acquisition of
external funding other than KAKENHI acquired in the capacity of principal investigator) of eightrecipients of the PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research, seven recipients of theInternational Human Resource Exchange Program (excluding two who have resigned), and four
recipients of the International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program (excluding
three who have resigned) before and after they received program support. (The programs were carriedout up to FY2022.) The underlined items in Table 6 indicate that the figures increased after receiving
program support. Notably, the figures for acquisition of KAKENHI and external funding increased after
receiving program support.
Table 6: Comparison of research achievements before and after receiving support by program(annual average per person) (Continued on page)
PI Training Program forInternational
Collaborative Research(8 recipients)
2 years
beforesupportAftersupport until
FY2022

International Human
Resource Exchange
Program (7 recipients,
excluding 2 who haveresigned)
2 years
After
beforesupport until
support
FY2022

International Collaborative
Early-career Researcher
Training Program (4recipients, excluding 3 whohave resigned)
2 years
After
beforesupport until
support
FY2022

Academic
paperInternational
conference
presentation
KAKENHI(principal
investigator)
KAKENHI (coinvestigator)
External
funding(principal
investigator)

2.06

2.13

2.29

1.90

2.13

1.90

1.56

1.11

4.57

0.53

1.25

1.36

0.69

0.70

0.43

0.46

0.88

0.83

0.88

1.20

0.43

0.51

1.00

0.53

0.13

0.72

0.21

0.54

0

0.71

Table 7 shows a comparison of the number of academic papers published and international
conference presentations delivered by young faculty members (associate professors and assistantprofessors) who received program support and by regular women faculty members. The figures arehigher for the young faculty members who received program support than for regular women
researchers, and they are expected to make further research achievements going forward.

Table 7: Comparison of research achievements of regular women faculty members and program
recipients from FY2018 to FY2022 by job classification (annual average per person)(The job classifications are those at the time of receiving support.)
Dispatched
Regular
Dispatched
Regular woman
woman
woman
woman
associateassociateassistantassistantprofessor
professor
professor
professor
2018–2022
2018–2022
2018–2022
2018–2022
Academic
1.95
2.13
1.73
2.12
paper
International
conference
0.48
0.72
0.09
1.13
presentation
Under this project, a total of 24 recipients completed their international collaborative research by
FY2022 (PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research: 8, International Human
Resource Exchange Program: 9, International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training
Program: 7). Of these recipients, three from the International Human Resource Exchange Programand four from the International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program have resigned
as of October 1, 2023. Two out of the four individuals who resigned after receiving support under theInternational Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training transferred to another university and got
promoted.
Table 8 shows seven out of the 24 program recipients, who were promoted between 2018 and October
1, 2023. Five have been promoted within Kobe University, with one recipient of the International
Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program being promoted from associate professor toprofessor internally. The promotion rate is 29.2% (7 out of 24), suggesting that the overseas support
programs for women researchers are effective in promoting women researchers.

Table 8: Program recipient faculty members promoted between 2018 and October 1, 2023
Program
Job Classification Before/After Promotion
Project Assistant Professor -> Specially
PI Training Program
Internal
Appointed Associate Professor
for International
Collaborative
Assistant Professor -> AssociateInternal
Research
Professor
Assistant Professor -> AssociateInternational
External
Professor
Collaborative EarlyExternal
Assistant
Professor-> Instructor
career Researcher
Training Program
Internal
Associate Professor -> Professor
Specially Appointed AssociateInternal
International Human
Professor -> Associate Professor
Resource Exchange
Project Assistant Professor -> Specially
ProgramInternal
Appointed Associate Professor