Report on the Results of the Program "Initiative for Realizing Diversity in the Research Environment(Advanced type)" for FY2022
Inclusive Campus & Healthcare Center, Gender Equality Office, Kobe University
1. Project Goals and Action Plan
By advancing this project, Kobe University aims to 1) achieve a hiring rate of 30% or more for womenresearchers, 2) improve the rate of women holding higher-ranking positions, 3) increase the base of nextgeneration 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 initiatives
Goals
1) Achieve and 2) Improve themaintain a hirin rate of womenInitiatives
g rate of 30% holding higher-r
or more for wo anking positions
men researchers(A) Build a new human◎〇resources governance system(B) Implement the PI
TrainingProgramfor◎
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 the Diversity
Fund and build the Diversity〇〇
Co-creation Network3) Increase the 4) Enhance thebase of next-ge diversity environ
neration young ment and expand
researchers
it beyond the university◎◎〇◎*Regarding the initiative “(E) Establish the Diversity Promotion Council,” the council was reorganized effective April 1,2022 to form the Inclusive Campus & Healthcare Center in the below figure to promote collaboration among the existing
university organizations (i.e., Gender Equality Office, Medical Center for Student Health, and the Campus Life SupportCenter) that 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, andconsultations in areas such as LGBTQI+.

President
Joint management andsupport organization within the university

Executive Assistant tothe President in Chargeof Gender Equality

Faculty Human
Resources Committee

Inclusive Campus & Healthcare CenterInternational
Advisory CommitteeforDiversity Promotion

Inclusive Campus &Healthcare Center
Management Committee
Senior Officials’
Meeting
Executive Vice
President

Medical Center forStudent Health

Executive Vice
President

Support Center forCampus Life

Operatingmeeting

Executive Vice
President

Gender Equality
OfficeOperatingmeeting

Diversity Co-creation
Network

Operatingmeeting

Inclusive Campus & Healthcare Center Office, Student Affairs Department/Personnel and Labor Division, GeneralAffairs 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 FY2022 to attain this goal.
i. Implement the revised Faculty Human Resources Committee system
To help increase the hiring and promotion of women teachers, the Director of the Gender Equality Officehas attended the Faculty Human Resources Committee to check women’s hiring and promotion rates
provided on paper and consistently advocated for improvement in these rates. However, no rules havebeen formulated as to when and how reports related to the hiring and promotion of women teachers will
be carried out, and in an opinion exchange between the executives including the President accompanying
the organizational changes, it was pointed out that information dissemination about promotion of thehiring and promotion of women teachers was not sufficient. For this reason, following the organizationalchanges of this fiscal year, it was decided that discussions would be carried out pertaining to the formationof rules for the method of information publication, etc., related to the hiring and promotion rate of women,
and from next year, information disclosure and sharing will be carried out in line with the new rule.
ii. Build a new human resources governance system
In the opinion exchange with the between the executives including the President accompanying theorganizational changes, there were instructions for the revision of recruitment restricted to women andconsideration of a new overall women support package, and discussions took place regarding thedistribution of incentives for departments which had an increase in women faculty, as well as a system
for hiring young female researchers. As a result of this, with a base date of May 1, 2021, it was decided
to compare the number of women faculty on May 1 of each year in the fourth phase mid-term target
period, and allocate incentive spending for departments according to the increased number of faculty. In
addition, it was also decided to support the active employment of women faculty by establishing a newquota 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 theUniversity website.
40.0

30.0
30.0

(%)

30.0
25.0

25.4

23.9 27.6
23.3

20.7

20.0
15.0

18.4

21.2

22.4

24.1
24.3

22.8

32.5

31.4
24.2

20.0

22.5

23.9
19.2

15.0

17.5

17.1

18.0

17.5

17.3

17.2

19.2

20.4

21.7

18.1

18.4

18.4

10.0

18.4

10.0

Actual hiring rate
Target hiring rate
Three-year simple moving average (actual hiring rate)

5.0
0.0
2017

25.0

33.2

(%)

35.0

2018

2019

2020
Year

2021

2022

5.0

2023

0.0
2017

Figure 1: Comparison of target and actual hiring rates(The chart uses three-year simple moving average with datafrom FY2015 onwards.)

Actual retention rate
Target retention rate
2018

2019

2020
Year

20212022

2023

Figure 2: Comparison of target and actual
retention rates

The FY2022 hiring and retention rates of women researchers are shown in Figures 1 and 2 above. TheFY2022 retention rate was 18.4%, the same as FY2021, and the hiring rate was 19.2% (three-year simple
moving average: 22.5%), both falling short of the target rates.
2) Improve the rate of women holding higher-ranking positions (promotion rate)
The following initiatives were undertaken in FY2022 to attain the target rate of 20%.
i. Implement the PI Training Program for International Collaborative ResearchUnder this program, women faculty members are dispatched to overseas research institutions for a periodof six months or longer in principle with the aim of helping them get promoted to higher positions.
In FY2022, two researchers were planned to be dispatched abroad under the program, but as a result ofthe screening, the international collaborative research with one researcher was adopted. Table 2 shows theresults of the PI Training Programs for International Collaborative Research for FY2022.
Table 2: Results of the PI Training Programs for International Collaborative ResearchFY
Affiliation
JobDispatch (Research)
Destination CountryClassification
PeriodGraduate School of
Associate
FYs 2021–2022
Germany (online)
Science*
Professor
Project
Graduate School of2022
FYs 2021–2022
U.S.A (online)
Assistant
Medicine*
Professor
Associate
FYs 2022-2023
Graduate School of Science
TaiwanProfessor(2023/3/22-2023/4/3)
Note: *continuing from FY2021. There is only one program newly implemented in FY2022.

Figure 3 shows the rates of women researchers promoted to higher ranks in FY2022. In FY2022, thepromotion rate was 9.62% (five women out of 52 researchers; three-year simple moving average: 10.5%),
falling short of the target rate of 20.0% or higher as well.
There were four women researchers in senior management roles in FY2022, one less than the previousyear, but exceeding the target set for the final year of the project (FY2023), which is four.
25
22.0

21.4

20
16.9

14.5(%)

15
14.5

13.4

14.4 10.5

10
6.1

9.62
7.32
Actual promotion rate
Target promotion rate
Three-year simple moving average

5002017

2018

2019

2020
Year

2021

2022

2023

Figure 3: Comparison of the target and actual promotion rates(The chart uses three-year simple moving average with data from FY2016 onwards.)

3) Increase the base of next-generation young researchers
The following initiatives were undertaken in FY2022 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 for a period of six months or longer in principle with the aim of increasing the base of talented
young female researchers who can succeed internationally.
In FY2022, two researchers were planned to be dispatched abroad under the program, but as a result ofthe screening, one researcher was selected for the international collaborative research. Table 3 displays
the results of the International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program for FY2022.
Table 3: Result of International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program
Affiliation
The Research Institute for
Economics and Business
Administration

Job
Classification
Assistant
Professor

Dispatch (Research) Period

Destination Country

FYs 2022-2023

Sweden (online)

ii. Implement role model networking sessions
As part of increasing the base of young women researchers including doctoral students, a “role modelnetworking session to chat with women researchers (natural sciences edition) -How to build your career
as a researcher who speaks their mind-” was held in a hybrid format (online and face-to-face) on January
18, 2023. Two Kobe University women faculty in the natural sciences field (professor, assistant professor)
gave talks based on their experience until now, followed by comments by the director and then a Q&A
session with participants (41 participants).

4) Enhance the diversity environment and expand it beyond the university
The following initiatives were undertaken in FY2022 to achieve this goal.
i. Develop the Diversity Education ProgramFD training, which utilizes the finished version of the Diversity Education Program created in FY2020,
including training to overcome unconscious bias, was not implemented this year.
On the other hand, to achieve the university’s target of becoming a campus that respects diversity andwhere everyone’s individuality shines, a Basic Policy and Guidelines for Diverse Sexualities and Genders
at Kobe University was created by the Inclusive Campus & Healthcare Center to recognize the rights ofdiverse sexualities and genders and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and this was published onthe website on September 22, 2022 (an English version is scheduled to be released in FY2023).
In addition, in line with the formulation of the basic policy and guidelines, educational materials werecreated for training activities and educational activities, with the Gender Equality Office at the center ofthis.
ii. 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 discussed withparticipating companies.
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 initiatives designed to support women researchers
in getting promoted to higher positions through overseas dispatch and other programs. The Fund has beenpromoted through the university newsletter, website advertisements, and solicitations of company
donations are being carried out. In FY2022, the Fund received eight donations amounting to 245,000 yen.
This year, there were plans to implement the PI Training Program for International Collaborative Researchand International Collaborative Early-career Researcher Training Program using the Diversity Fund, butthere were changes in its implementation due to the university budget, and the Diversity Fund was not
used this year either. There are plans to carry out discussions in 2023 regarding the use of the Diversity
Fund from next year onwards.
iv. Diversity ForumIn FY2022, we held an online Diversity Forum (Zoom webinar) with the theme “Women’s Promotion toHigher-Ranking Positions and Workstyle Reforms Aiming to Create a Workplace where Everyone canThrive: Creating a Society that Respects Gender, Sex and Sexuality -Our Challenges and Visions-” onNovember 15, 2022.
In the first half of the forum, there was a keynote speech from an academic perspective on achieving asociety in which all genders can thrive, followed by a lecture on the awareness of issues related tocompany formation in real life and company issues. In the second half, two students gave talks on theirperspective as students. Following this, there was a Q&A session for the speakers, and then a discussion
among the speakers closed the forum (96 participants).