Feb 15, 2023
30% Club Japan
Activity Report
30% Club Japan University Group:
A dialogue between Yuko Takahashi, President of Tsuda University,and Teruo Fujii, President of the University of Tokyo

Make a Difference at Universities:
Pioneering a Landscape for Women Leaders
On December 5, 2022, a dialogue was held at the University of Tokyo between
President Yuko Takahashi of Tsuda University and President Teruo Fujii of theUniversity of Tokyo as a project of the 30% Club Japan University Group.
With the aim of discussing efforts on how to reach having 30% of top positions filled
by women at universities, we invited President Yuko Takahashi of Tsuda University,
who has written several books, including How Can the Number of Women UniversityPresidents Be Increased?; President Teruo Fujii of the University of Tokyo, who madehalf of the board members women when he took office; and Haruko Nagayama, Chair ofthe Board of Deloitte Tohmatsu Group, to moderate a discussion on how universities
can overcome unique challenges with a view to setting goals for the university group.

The Significance of Promoting Women’s Activities
Ms. Nagayama: I’m Haruko Nagayama, Vice Chair of 30% Club Japan and Chair of theBoard of Deloitte Tohmatsu Group. The board chair is also a kind of role model who
pushes to shape the culture of an organization, and I recognize that I was chosen as arepresentative of an organization that promotes diversity. First of all, I would like to ask
you about the significance of promoting women’s activities at universities.
President Takahashi: University is the final chance for students to stretch themselves
as far as possible before going out into the world. When we think about how students
perceive themselves and what kind of landscape they see as they reconfigure thisimage, it is important to consider how many images of women there are on campus.
Photos of past presidents are displayed in various university conference rooms, but nowomen are visible.
If the university is serious about creating a society in which women are active, it isessential to increase the number of women faculty members and the number of womenin upper-level positions to close to 30%, and to send a message to the women
enrolled that this place is a space that sincerely welcomes and empowers
women. In Japan, including our university, such things have not been done adequately.
In addition to increasing the percentage of women faculty members, it is also important
for the University of Tokyo to produce a woman president.
President Fujii: As such, at thebeginning of the President’s term, werequested that five out of nine
members of the Board of Directors bewomen. Since the university is a place
where knowledge is cultivated throughacademics, there should be as many
viewpoints as possible, and theplace should be created while taking
advantage of these diverse
opinions. There was a time when all
the speakers at plenary sessions(keynote speeches, etc.) atinternational conferences were men,and I thought, “This is not right.” Although there were women who had achieved
excellent results, the representation of women was clearly low.
It is extremely important to discuss diverse perspectives to reach the heights ofacademic excellence. It is important to create a place where decisions can be madebased on a variety of opinions, not just the opinions of certain people. The university’s
new basic policy, “UTokyo Compass”, released last September, a set of principles,
goals, and specific actions that will guide the university in the coming decades, under
the title “Into a Sea of Diversity: Creating the Future through Dialogue”. At Todai, too,the statues are all of men. I think it is important to have women participate in higher
positions to create a place everyone wants to come to.

Women Leaders Do Not Arise Spontaneously
President Takahashi: University presidents have also had very limited opportunities tobe educated by women faculty members. As for myself, probably 60% or 70% of thecredits I earned at Tsuda University were from courses taught by women. I believe thatthe experience of taking classes from these women, who had been going throughvarious life events and who represented a diversity of generations, has led me to where
I am today.
Ms. Nagayama: Were any measures put in place to convey the image of apredominantly women faculty at Tsuda University? Did it happen spontaneously?
President Takahashi: I believe it is the founding
spirit. When Umeko Tsuda tried to create an institutionof higher education for women, women were not only
forbidden from enrolling at the Imperial University,they were also denied admission into the old highschool system. Until the mid-twentieth century, women
were in such a situation. The founding spirit of theUniversity was to make the kind of higher education
offered at the old high schools and imperial
universities of the time accessible to women.
In addition, before returning to Japan to set up aschool, Umeko Tsuda established a scholarship program where she had been studying
abroad. She had in mind the training of women who would follow in her footsteps. In
other words, women leaders do not arise spontaneously. A 122-year history ofhigher education institutions was woven because of the programs Umeko Tsuda createdin the 19th century to develop women leaders.
It is impossible to try to produce women leaders without any support. In this sense, I
believe that President Fujii is an “ally” of women leaders. A panel composed entirelyof men is called a “manel”. I think it is also extremely important to produce male allies
like President Fujii, who has declared that 20-50% of the panelists must be women andpromotes having women as the next representatives. Inazo Nitobe, who was involved in
the establishment of Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, was also a male ally ofUmeko Tsuda. I would like to see The University of Tokyo project the image that being amale ally of women is cool (i.e., showing how advanced men are).

Ms. Nagayama: The University of Tokyo has a different “landscape” than Tsuda
University, with a lower percentage of women in its pipeline of students. Other than that,are there any other factors that are shaping the “landscape” of the University of Tokyo?
President Fujii: As President Takahashi mentioned, I think the influence of people whocan be seen as role models in becoming researchers is significant. There is still asituation where the percentage of women professors has not reached 10%. This needs
to change. In this sense, I believe that increasing the number of women in higher
positions is very important; it is a major point. As was recently reported, the goal is toincrease the percentage of women faculty members by making approximately 300 of
the 1,200 new professors and associate professors scheduled to be appointed over thenext six years women.

Ban Men-only “Manels”
Ms. Nagayama: Has increasing the number ofwomen on the board had an impact?
President Fujii: The structure has changed,
including that of the presidency, so of course
there have been major changes. I also wanted tomake the meetings among the board members aforum for lively discussion. It’s not about whether
the previous situation was better or worse, butthere was a change. Some of the board members
have also been in management in outsidecompanies or have worked extensively forinternational organizations. In this sense, different
perspectives are added to the discussion, even from those who have been at theuniversity for a long time.
Executive VP Hayashi （The University ofTokyo,Executive Vice President / VicePresident): Manels were practically banned
among the board members. I feel that the pointthat “there are no female panelists” has been
properly raised at recent meetings.
President Fujii: When we hold events invarious faculties, men tend to step up, so we ask
the relevant professors to make the panels in aform that includes women.
Ms. Nagayama: We also have a “panelpromise,” promoting a rule that 40% of panelists
must be male, 40% female, and 20% diversity
adjusted. So far, we have only promoted the unit leaders. When that happens, it is not a4-4-2. Through changing the cut-off point, for example, by bringing in women from aslightly younger demographic, the panel has gained a reputation for producing content
more easily understood by the listeners. The “manel ban” works for any organization.
President Takahashi: Whenever a university president has been the main speaker, orwhenever they have gathered, at so-called Presidents’ Conferences and such, there
have been many manels. Even when the theme is “diversity and inclusion.” I always
summon up the courage to speak up and say, “If you are going to have a panel on a
topic like this, please include women and foreign nationals,” and I would like toencourage the male presidents to join us.
Ms. Nagayama: Is it correct to say that we have agreement on the idea of “no manels”
here?
President Takahashi: I urge all universities that have joined the 30% Club to spreadthis message as well. From the world’s perspective, the current situation in Japan is soanachronistic that if one were to look at such a landscape, one would ask, “How long isJapan going to keep doing this?”President Fujii: I think you are right. I will endeavor to say something to that effect.

Increasing the Image of Women within the University of Tokyo
Ms. Nagayama: Regarding the hiring of women faculty members as announced by theUniversity of Tokyo, it may be possible that “there is no one in the market” (no one whocan be hired). What are your estimates on this?
President Fujii: We were prepared for many
hardships to occur, but we have a renewed
awareness that it is something that will notchange unless we do it consciously. As forhiring, we won’t know until we try, but I think it
is important that we decide on this and do it. It
makes sense that there are many talented
people out there, so I think it is important tocreate an environment that will attract suchindividuals.
President Takahashi: An environment and infrastructure that welcomes women is also
important. At Tsuda University, there are many symbols of women and buildings named
after women, but where can we find such images at the University of Tokyo? Also,
Tsuda University has awards named after women, such as the “Ryoko AkamatsuAward.” How about the University of Tokyo?
Executive VP Hayashi: As for the few images of women at Todai, I can think of one
who looks like a nurse depicted in a relief on the wall of the hospital attached to theSchool of Medicine (“Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention in Medicine” by Takezo
Shinkai) and an elegant woman in a classical Greek-like costume in a mural above thestage in the Yasuda Auditorium (“Spring Water” and “Harvest Fruits” by Miaki Kosugi).
However, there is no prize bearing a woman’s name, is there? There is a prize bearing
a man's name (the Shigeru Nanbara Award).
President Takahashi: Through awards we can show that women can accomplish
anything. Isn't it important to set up the infrastructure to create an environment thatwelcomes, empowers, and includes women? The award is just one example, but it isimportant to make inroads to honor women in such a way.
Women came late to institutions of higher education. While Tohoku Imperial
University started accepting women students in 1913, Tokyo Imperial University did not
do so until 1946. Shouldn’t we examine the history of the University of Tokyo to date byasking the question why it lagged behind Tohoku University for 33 years?
At Tsuda University, we tell students about how women overcame difficulties to get towhere they are today. Historically, how have Tsuda graduates been involved inovercoming various hurdles? For example, we are actively communicating the fact thatTsuda University alumnus Ryoko Akamatsu and former president Taki Fujita wereinvolved in the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law.
An environment where women are placed in the center and told their stories issomething that is hard to find later in life, and I believe this is possible only at a women’scollege. President Fujii, I don’t think you can talk only about women, but I think it would
be empowering if you could create an opportunity to talk to women by placing womenstudents at the center. Developing the infrastructure needed to create a comfortableenvironment for women, examining of how universities that are members of the 30%
Club treat women in their university histories – there are many things that need to bereviewed.

--------This dialogue was observed by approximately 30 people, including the presidents of
the 30% Club Japan university groups* and other 30% Club Japan members, and wasfollowed by a question-and-answer session. We closed the meeting by confirming that,based on the learnings from the dialogue, we will report on progress at each university
at the next plenary meeting of the university group, scheduled to be held in 2023.
*Participating universities in the University Group (in alphabetical order): Doshisha
University, Keio University, Niigata University, Ochanomizu University, Osaka University,Showa Women’s University, Sophia University, Tsuda University, University of Tokyo(Chair)