Report on the Results of the Program "Initiative for Realizing Diversity in the Research Environment(Advanced type)" for the FYs 2020–2021
Gender Equality Office, Kobe University

1． Project Goals and Action Plan
By advancing this project, Kobe University aims to 1) achieve a recruitment rate of 30% or more forwomen researchers, 2) improve the percentage of women holding higher ranking positions, 3) increase thebase of next-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: The relationship between the goals and the initiativesGoals 1) Achieve and2) Improve themaintain apercentage ofrecruitment rate women holdingof 30% or morehigher ranking
Initiatives
positions(A) Build a new human***resources governance system(B) Implement the PI
Training Program for**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 a(F) Establish the diversityfund and build the Diversity**Co-creation Networka3) Increase thebase of nextgeneration
youngresearchers4) Enhance thediversity
environment andexpand it beyond
the university

**

**

*

**

Regarding the initiative “(E) Establish the Diversity Promotion Council,” the council will be reorganized effective
April 1, 2022 to form the Inclusive Campus & Healthcare Center to promote collaboration among the existing
university organizations (i.e., Gender Equality Office, Medical Center for Student Health, and the Campus Life
Support Center) that worked independently from one another in the past and to ensure they provide coordinatedsupport under a single supervisory organization.

2．Achievement Levels of Each Goal
1) Achieve a recruitment rate of 30% or more for women researchers
The following projects were undertaken in FY 2020 and FY 2021 to attain this goal.
1i.
Implement the revised Faculty Human Resources Committee system
To help increase the hiring and promotion of women teachers, the Director of Gender Equality Office, in her
capacity as an advisor to the President, attended the Faculty Human Resources Committee to check women’s
recruitment and promotion rates provided on paper and consistently advocated for improvement in these rates.
ii.
Build a new human resources governance system
The Gender Equality Office distributed handouts containing information on unconscious bias to the entire
university and called for active recruitment and employment of women researchers, and highlighted theuniversity-wide commitment to further strengthen the efforts to increase the hiring of women researchers indepartment head meetings. Furthermore, it was agreed to add the following sentence to the recruitment
guideline: “When candidates’ achievements and qualifications are deemed equal, preference shall be given towomen.”iii.

Visualize the recruitment, promotion, and retention rates of women faculty (Publishing of numericaldata)
To promote the visualization of the employment and promotion of women faculty, the Gender Equality Officepublishes on the university website the recruitment, promotion, and retention rates of women by academic
area.

Graph 1: Comparison of target and actual recruitment rates(The 3 year simple moving average graph uses datafrom FY 2015 onwards.)

Graph 2: Comparison of target and actual
retention rates

The FY 2020 and FY 2021 recruitment and retention rates of women researchers are shown in graphs 1 and 2above. The FY 2020 retention and recruitment rates of 18.1% and 24.1% (3- year simple moving average: 24.3%),
respectively, were an improvement over FY 2019 but fell short of the target rates. The FY 2021 as of March 1,
2022recruitment and retention rates of women researchers are 18.4% and 24.2% (3- year simple moving average:23.9%), respectively, were also an improvement over FY 2019 but fell short of the target rates.
2) Improve the percentage of women holding higher ranking positions
The following projects were undertaken in FY 2020 and FY 2021 to attain a 20% promotion rate.
i.
Implement the PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research
Under this program, women faculty members are dispatched to overseas research institutions for a period of six2

months or longer in principle with the aim of helping them get promoted to higher positions.
In FY 2020, two researchers were selected to be dispatched abroad under the program but were forced to cancel
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the two researchers participated in an online international collaborative
research project instead. One researcher was dispatched during the period from FY 2019 to FY 2020. In FY 2021,
three researchers participated in online international collaborative research. Table 2 summarizes the participationof our researchers in the FY 2020 and FY 2021 PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research.
Table 2: Results of the PI Training Program for International Collaborative Research
FY
Affiliation
Job
Dispatch Period
Classification
2020 Biosignal Research Center
AssistantApril 25, 2020 toProfessor
March 25, 2021
Graduate School of Health
AssistantFebruary 20, 2020 toSciences
Professor
January 11, 2021
FY
Affiliation
Job
CollaborativeClassification
research periodGraduate School of Science
Associate
FYs 2021–2022
Professor
2021
Graduate School ofProject AssistantFYs 2021–2022
Medicine
Professor
Center for Interdisciplinary Project Assistant
FY 2021
Programs
Professor

Destination Country
U.S.A.
(online)U.S.A.
Destination Country
Germany (online)
U.S.A. (online)
Italy (online)

Graph 3 shows the rates of women researchers promoted to higher ranks in FY 2020 and FY 2021. In FY 2020,
the promotion rate fell short of the target rate of 20.0% or higher with three out of 41 researchers, or 7.3% being
raised to a higher position (3-year simple moving average: 16.9%). In FY 2021 as of March 1, 2022, thepromotion rate also fell short of the target rate of 20.0% or higher with eight out of 55 researchers, or 14.5%
being raised to a higher position (3-year simple moving average: 14.4%).
Note that there were five women researchers in senior management roles in FY 2020 including the Director ofthe Gender Equality Office in her capacity as an advisor to the President, already exceeding the target set for thefinal year (FY 2023) of the "Initiative for Realizing Diversity in the Research Environment” program, which isfour.

Graph 3: Comparison of the target and actual promotion rates(The 3-year simple moving average graph uses data from FY 2016 onwards.)
33) Increase the base of next-generation young researchers
The following projects were undertaken in FY 2020 and FY 2021 to achieve this goal.
i.
Implement the International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program
Under this program, women researchers aged 45 or younger are dispatched to overseas research institutions fora period of six months or longer in principle with the aim of increasing the base of talented young femaleresearchers who can succeed internationally.
In FY 2020, one researcher was dispatched as shown in Table 3. In FY 2021, the program invited applications
but did not receive any.
Table 3: Result of International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program (Implemented only inFY 2020)
Affiliation
Job Classification
Dispatch Period
Destination Country
Graduate School of System
Assistant Professor
October 19, 2020 toFrance
Informatics
March 20, 20214) Enhance the diversity environment and expand it beyond the university
The following projects were undertaken in FY 2020 and FY 2021 to achieve this goal.
i.
Develop the Diversity Education Program
In FY 2020, an alpha-phase online Diversity Education Program developed in FY 2019, which includes training
to overcome unconscious bias, was reviewed and upgraded to the final beta version based on survey feedback.
In FY 2021, the following on and off-campus events were held for online viewing to help achieve 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)
ii.
Build the Diversity Co-creation Network and collaborate with companies
In FY 2020, we organized the Diversity Co-creation Network meetings to discuss the Diversity Education
Program’s target participants and program content. We also visited some companies in the hope of expanding
the Network’s membership. The FY 2021 activities included hosting the Diversity Co-creation Networkmeetings (iii and iv above) at which the participants watched the Diversity Education Program’s beta version
and exchanged opinions on the program. We also made the Diversity Education Program available for viewing
for all Network members. Furthermore, we discussed the content of a diversity lecture program.
iii.
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 projects designed to support women researchers in getting
promoted to higher positions through overseas dispatch and other programs. Thanks to the university newsletter,4website advertisements, and solicitations of company donations, the Fund received four donations amounting to370,000 yen in FY 2020 and three donations amounting to 140,000 yen in FY 2021 as of March 1, 2022.
The Gender Equality Office developed a process whereby the Office formulates the spending plan and reports
to the Gender Equality Promotion Committee for a review, but since the Diversity Fund received donations butplans were yet to be made to use them, no reports or reviews were made.
iv.
Diversity ForumIn FY 2020, we hosted an online Diversity Forum (Zoom Webinar) with the theme: “Promotion of Women toHigher Positions and Work Style Reform—Aiming to Create a Workplace where Everyone Can Work withEnthusiasm.” The first half of the webinar featured a presentation of the outcomes of the Initiative for Realizing
Diversity in the Research Environment (including such information as the changes in the retention, hiring, andpromotion rates of women researchers over the years, the results of overseas dispatch programs, and education
program content), as well as the results of evaluation by the International Advisory Committee. The second halffeatured a presentation on corporate diversity management efforts, with a specific focus on initiatives to promote
the advancement of women researchers to higher roles and some examples of work style reform initiatives,
which offered useful guidance for our future activities. (The webinar was watched by 105 viewers.)
Our FY 2021 online Diversity Forum (Zoom Webinar) was organized with the theme: “Work-Life Balance as
Seen from Men’s Childcare Leave). The webinar featured a lecture on the revisions of the Child Care and Family
Care Leave Act, a keynote speech on the right ways to understand and use the concept of work-life balance, anda presentation on a personal experience of taking childcare leave at Kobe University. The lectures andpresentations were followed by a question-and-answer session and a discussion among the speakers, which
helped educate the audience on these topics, especially the people in management positions who play animportant role in creating a vibrant workplace for all in light of the recent revision of the Child Care and Family
Care Act. (The webinar was watched by 112 viewers.)5