How we can motivate girls to choose Science and Technology field? - Questionnaire survey for east Asian scientists - IDEURA Yoshie, MIKI Shoko, TOMINAGA Noriko, KUWAHARA Motoko, MORIYA Tomoko and OSHIMA Mieko (Japan Women Engineers Forum) 2-5-10-3502, Shirokane, Minato-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN QYT02677@nifty.ne.jp 　 ABSTRACT Greater participation of women in science and technologies is required for empowerment of women and correction of gender bias. But we found that female students still believe that “science is an area for men”　when we introduced our occupation to high school students. Therefore a questionnaire survey of scientists and engineers was conducted to examine their reasons for selecting majors in science and to learn “how we could encourage Japanese women in science and technology”. The respondents were chosen not only in Japan but also in China, Korea, in order to obtain various examples in other east Asian countries. Our proposals to encourage girls choosing S & T are; 1. Showing female role models to girls before high school age. 2. Let mothers have positive attitude for choosing S & T. 3. Notice that the S&T occupation is less gender discriminating.　 KEYWORDS East Asia, Science and technology, Selection of life course, Role model, Questionnaires INTRODUCTION Since its establishment, the Japan Women Engineers Forum (JWEF) has provided women engineers with opportunities to exchange information and has conducted and reported the results of a survey on the work environment for women engineers. Such activities have exposed the need for a strategy to continuously increase the number of women engineers and to provide them with an appropriate work environment. To verify this point, JWEF members met with female students who were in the process of job hunting and held a symposium for female junior and senior high school students who intended to major in science and engineering. Many of the students indicated a certain degree of reluctance to choose engineering because they are women. In addition, to find out what needs to be done to encourage more female students to specialize in science and engineering, a survey was conducted among both males and females who had majored in natural science or engineering. The survey focused on when they decided to specialize in science and engineering as well as the factors that influenced their choice. Simultaneously, the same survey was conducted among engineers, researchers and students in China and Korea for comparison with East Asian countries. METHOD A questionnaire survey was conducted on the JWEF members and their friends from January 2000 to July 2001. The questionnaires were prepared in Japanese, English, Korean, and Chinese to make sure that all respondents understood the questions and provided appropriate answers. In total, 117 male respondents (34 Japanese, 62 Korean, 21 Chinese) and 96 female respondents (33 Japanese, 39 Korean, 24 Chinese) provided valid responses. The birth years of the respondents ranged from the 1930s to 1980s; they included engineers, technicians, researchers, and graduate students whose education level ranged from high school graduates to Ph.Ds. RESULTS 1. Age at which the Respondents Chose to Study in Science and Technology and Selected their Academic Specialty Fig. 1 shows the ages at which each respondent group, classified by nationality, chose to specialize in science and technology. Responses obtained for each age indicated in the chart are shown as percentages. Fig. 2 shows the ages at which each group of respondents selected their academic majors. Fig.1 Age of decision for S&T Fig.2 Age of decision for specialty Respondents of all groups indicated that they chose to study science and technology when they were 16 or 17 years old and selected their specialty when they were 18 or 19 years old. No particular difference was observed between the male and female respondents. This result reflects the educational system in Japan, where students must choose to study either humanities or sciences during the first two years of high school, when they are 16 or 17 years old, and they select their specialty upon enrollment in the university, when they are 18 or 19 years old. Two subjects were 7 years old when they decided to study science and technology. Most of the subjects selected their major when they were 18, but some did not decide until they were 25. As a whole, most of the respondents indicated that they chose to study either the humanities or sciences before entering university, and the decision regarding their specialty was made before or after their post-graduate years or through their business experience. Most of the respondents were assumed to have selected their specialties from the field of science and technology. 2. Factors that Influenced the Respondents’ Decisions to Study Science and Technology (1) Human Factors On the questionnaire, 30 choices were given to the respondents regarding the people who influenced them to study science and technology. Fig. 3 shows only the choices that received a large number responses. In all groups of respondents, “father” and “mother” registered the highest responses. Characteristics observed in each respondent group could be described as follows: Among the Japanese respondents, many male respondents selected “a famous man” as an influential factor, while many female respondents selected “a male high school teacher.” Among the Korean respondents, many male respondents selected “an older brother,” while many female respondents selected “a female friend.” Among the Chinese respondents, many male respondents selected “a famous man” or “a male university professor,” while many female respondents selected “a male high school teacher.” Fig.3 Persons who influenced for your decision (Japanese) (2) Role Models In the questionnaire, 30 choices were given regarding the role model who encouraged the respondents to study science and engineering. The most common answer for all groups of respondents was “none.”　 Another notable point is that more than 10% of the male respondents in all groups selected “a famous man” as their role model, and about 10% of the female respondents in all groups selected “a famous woman.” In addition, in the Korean group, “father” was the second-most selected choice among the male respondents, while “mother” was the second-most selected choice among female respondents. This result indicates that men tend to seek a male role model while women seek a female role model. (3) The Person who Encouraged a Respondent to Choose Science and Engineering Respondents were asked to choose their answers from 30 given choices regarding the person who encouraged them to study science and engineering. The most common response in all groups was “no one in particular.” However, in the Japanese and Chinese groups, over 20% of the female respondents selected “mother.” (4) The Person Who Objected to a Respondent’s Decision to Specialize in Science and Technology Almost all of the Korean and Chinese respondents stated that “no one in particular” objected to their choice of science and technology. However, many female Japanese respondents indicated that their choice was opposed by, in most cases, their mothers, followed by their fathers and their high school teachers. 3. Reason for Choosing Science and Technology The respondents were given 12 choices regarding their reason for choosing to specialize in science and technology (Fig. 4). The most common response among both males and females in all groups was “because I’m interested in the field.” The next most common responses were “to gain the knowledge, skill, and qualifications necessary to secure a professional occupation” and “because it will be useful to get a life-long occupation.” A large percentage of the Korean respondents chose “because it gives you an advantage in getting a job.” There were some differences in the responses given by males and females. For example, “because selecting this field gives you a better chance to get a job with no gender discrimination” was chosen by over 15% of the female respondents in the Japanese and Korean groups, but no male respondents in these groups chose this response. An equal number of Chinese male and female respondents chose this response, but the percentage of those in the Chinese group who chose this item was less than 5%. Fig. 4 Reasons for decision of specialty (Korea) 4. The Percentage of Women in Science and Technology Departments The percentage of female students in science and technology departments was calculated based on information collected from the respondents regarding the number of their classmates and the proportion of women against it in the department they had belonged to (Fig. 5). The results showed that the percentage of women on most departments was less than 10% at the institutions represented by the Japanese and Korean groups, while it was 20% to 40% at the institutions represented by the Chinese group. This result indicates that the proportion of women in science and technology is larger in China than in Japan or Korea. Fig. 5 Ratio of female students in your course 5. Treatment of Women in the Workplace The respondents were asked to freely describe the treatment of women researchers and engineers in the workplace. The responses were classified as “equal,” “disadvantageous to male,” and “unknown.” The overall result suggested that many of the Japanese and Korean respondents felt that women workers were not treated fairly, while many of the Chinese respondents felt that women were treated fairly in the workplace (Fig. 6). Fig. 6 Treatment of Women in the workplace DISCUSSIONS This questionnaire survey of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese men and women working in science and technology was conducted in order to develop a strategy to encourage more women to specialize in science and technology. Respondents were asked when and why they decided to specialize in science and engineering, as well as who influenced their decision. Male and female respondents in all groups indicated that the age at which they chose to specialize in science and engineering was 16 or 17. Similarly, they indicated that they selected their specialty at 18 or 19. This result reflects the educational system in the respondents’ countries and indicates that activities to encourage more women to specialize in science and engineering should target students 16 years old or younger. As for the person who influenced their decision regarding the course of study, “father” and “mother” registered the highest responses in all groups. Regarding the role model who might have encouraged the respondents to specialize in science and engineering, the men tended to choose men while women chose women, although most of the respondents chose “no one in particular.” For the person who encouraged them to choose science and technology, the majority of the respondents indicated “no one in particular,” with “mother” coming in second. Only the female Japanese respondents indicated that they had been opposed when they decided to specialize in science and technology, usually by “mother,” “father,” or “high school teachers (male and female).” The above results indicate that mothers are very influential in encouraging or discouraging their children to specialize in science and technology, which indicates the need to promote an understanding of women’s roles in science and technology among the mothers’ generation. Another effective way to encourage more women to specialize in science and technology would be to provide them with female role models. Such a role model could also serve as an eye-opener for adults and high school teachers who, according to the result of the study, tend to object to a female student’s decision to specialize in science and technology. Regarding their reason for choosing their course of study, the most common response in all groups was “because I enjoy the field and have an aptitude for studies and experiments related to the field.” Korean and Japanese students typically chose “because selecting this field gives you a better chance to get a job with no gender discrimination,” which indicates that respondents in these groups felt that women are not treated fairly in white-collar occupations or that women are generally not treated fairly unless they have special skills. Such a sentiment was reflected in the responses to the last question regarding the treatment of women researchers and engineers in the workplace: Many Japanese and Korean respondents indicated that women are not treated fairly, while most Chinese respondents indicated that they are. According to the information collected from the Japanese and Korean respondents, the average percentage of women in science and technology major was less than 10%, smaller than that reported by the Chinese group. There seems to be a correlation between the number of women in science and technology and the fairness of the treatment of women in the workplace. The results of this study indicate that China has a better work environment compared to Japan and Korea in terms of equal opportunity for women. More women in science and technology means more female role models for women who aspire to specialize in science and technology, which will consequently increase the number of women engineers and scientists. In order to increase the number of women engineers and scientists in Japan, public awareness of women who are actively engaged in science and engineering should be increased, and activities to encourage and assist female students 16 years old or younger to specialize in science and technology should be implemented. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to those who completed the questionnaire and to those who provided us with a list of respondents. Without their help, this study would not have been possible. References Yasuko MURAMATSU, Full Exertion of Women’s Knowledge and Skills in Science and Technology: Gender Analysis of Science and Engineering and a Proposal, Nihon Hyoronsha, 1996. Hiroko HARA, Career Development of Women Researchers: Gender Analysis of the Research Environment Survey Results, Keisoshobo. 1999.