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[Info. File] Japan Faces an IT Talent Shortfall of 790,000; A Serious Push to Grow Women in STEM
Based on a survey by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Cabinet Office.
National universities to establish "female quotas" to make up 50% of science and engineering students within 10 years.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Survey on IT Human Resource Demand" (2019), it is estimated that there will be a shortage of up to 790,000 IT professionals by 2030. In
September 2022, the government's "Education Future Creation Council" made its first recommendations, calling for an increase in the percentage of students majoring in natural sciences (science and engineering) from the current 35% to around 50% within 10 years. This is driven by a strong sense of crisis that Japan is lagging behind in international competition in the field of AI. In
July 2023, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced plans to support 118 national, public, and private universities and technical colleges to expand science, engineering, and agriculture fields, and to establish new science and engineering faculties and departments in 62 public and private institutions.
Japan has the lowest percentage of female students in science faculties among OECD member countries. To improve the gender balance in science and engineering fields, the first recommendations recommend the creation of a "women's quota" for science and engineering fields starting with the 2023 university entrance examinations. In response to the recommendations, an increasing number of universities are establishing "women's quotas," such as Nagoya University's Faculty of Engineering, which limits half of its admission quota for school-recommended admissions to women.
According to a 2021 commissioned survey by the Cabinet Office ("Survey and Research on Regional Characteristics in Career Choices in Science and Engineering Fields for Female Students, etc."), the proportion of students entering science and engineering fields among university entrants is 2.1% for "Science" and 11.5% for "Engineering." In addition to the fact that students' career choices are skewed towards humanities, the gender ratio is particularly skewed in science and engineering fields. Looking at the percentage of female entrants by field, it is 71.5% for "Health and Others," 58.1% for "Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy," and 45.7% for "Agriculture," compared to only 30.2% for "Science" and 15.2% for "Engineering." In 2021, only 7% of students majoring in science and engineering were women, significantly lower than the 28% of men.
Source: Compiled by the author based on the Cabinet Office study cited above.
In November 2022, Tokyo Institute of Technology decided to create a "women's quota" for its 2024 entrance examinations, aiming to increase the percentage of female students from the current 13% to over 20%. Furthermore, on May 25, 2023, the science faculties of 10 national universities across Japan issued a joint statement aiming to "realize a gender-balanced environment" and "work to increase the percentage of female students."
However, concerns have been raised about the "women's quotas" at national universities, including concerns that they "undermine the fairness and equality of entrance examinations," "reverse discrimination," and "lead to a decline in academic ability." On the other hand, there are also movements to tighten the fairness and equality of entrance examinations, such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's announcement that it will abolish gender-based quotas for metropolitan high schools in 2024. There is a growing recognition that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology should support the establishment of science and engineering faculties at women's universities and implement measures to cultivate female talent in science and engineering. Meanwhile, it is expected that the debate surrounding the "women's quota" will continue.
(This article is an edited and revised version of an article from the August 2023 issue of 'EN-ICHI FORUM'.)
