Figure B: Percentages of Women Undergraduate Students Compared to Men
Professor Honda attributes this disparity to deeply rooted societal stereotypes about “masculine” and “feminine” roles. Honda notes, “As demonstrated by the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) , which surveys 15-year-olds in numerous countries and regions worldwide, science and mathematics literacy among Japanese girls is among the highest. The fact that so few of them go on to higher education in science and engineering, despite such a high level of literacy, reflects societal assumptions about which academic fields are appropriate for what gender.” 15 Historical Inequality The gender equality struggle is not new. More than a century ago, Kishida Toshiko, one of Japan’s earliest female rights activists, described the plight of women in a metaphor as “creatures kept in a box ... They have hands and feet and a voice—but all to no avail, because their freedom is restricted.” 16 The data:
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Ten Years in the Making
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