‘Loss for the nation’: Japan rushes to erase stigma for women in STEM fields

Japan ranks last among wealthy nations for female representation in STEM, despite its girls scoring second-highest in the world in maths and third in science, according to the OECD

The country hopes to eradicate the stigma, urging universities to introduce a quota for female STEM students, and partnering schools and firms to offer scholarships

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Yuna Kato works with her college club to produce a light human-powered aircraft at Tokyo University. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:00am, 13 Jul 2023Updated: 5:16pm, 8 Aug 2023

A third-year student at one of Japan’s top engineering universities, Yuna Kato has her sights set on a career in research but fears it might be short-lived if she has children.

Kato says relatives have tried to steer her away from science, technology, engineering and mathematics, on the notion that women in the STEM field are too busy at work to juggle dating or families, so have a hard time finding husbands.

“My grandmother and mother often tell me that there are non-STEM jobs out there if I want to raise children,” she said.

Kato has made it this far, but many aspiring female engineers choose a different path due to the social stigma, creating a massive headache for Japan. In the IT field alone, the country is looking at a shortfall of 790,000 workers by 2030, largely due to a severe underrepresentation of women.

Yuna Kato works with male students at her college club. She says relatives have tried to steer her away from science, technology, engineering and mathematics, on the notion that women in the STEM field are too busy at work to juggle dating or families. Photo: Reuters

The upshot, experts warn, is a decline in innovation, productivity and competitiveness for a country that grew into the world’s third-largest economy on those strengths during the last century.