Evaluation of the gender-neutral academic climate on campus for women faculty in STEM fields

The status of gender equity at universities is often evaluated via statistical data such as the proportions of women faculty members and students. However, given that women are still a minority in decision-making positions while gender parity has been achieved in most countries for students, simply increasing the proportion of women alone is not enough to ensure a truly gender-neutral (gender bias-free) academic climate on campuses, i.e., continuous efforts are required to create an environment that promotes the active participation of women. In particular, when the environment for cutting-edge advanced research in STEM fields is considered, despite the necessity for a gender perspective in science and technology innovation, the establishment of a gender-neutral academic climate has yet to be achieved. To solve this problem, a new indicator that accurately and quantitatively reflects the status of the gender-neutral academic climate on campuses is urgently needed.

On the basis of this idea, this paper proposes a new method for quantitatively assessing the gender-neutral academic climate at each school/division/department of a university by analyzing scholarly output by gender. We created a bubble chart called the Academic Gender Equity Index (Academic_GEI), which consists of scholarly output and the proportion and absolute number of women faculty members, and used it as an indicator of human resource initiatives for gender equality within disciplines. We conducted a survey using this methodology in several countries (Japan/USA/EU). The Academic_GEI, along with other existing indicators, can be used to foster a gender-neutral academic climate for the next generation.