Office for Promotion of Equality and DiversityWaseda University

December 5, 2008

Waseda University endeavors to widely advertise the Gender Equality Declaration that it issued on October 21, 2007, across the University, and promote gender equality in the University. To this objective, Waseda University has established the following Gender Equality Basic Plan, which aims to achieve its targets within 10 years, starting from 2008, after discussions and deliberations by the Gender Equality Promotion Committee:

1) Increase the percentage of women in full-time faculty posts.

Set numerical targets for individual faculties and other units to increase the proportion of women in their full-time faculty posts and report their progress to the Executive Board and other related parties.

2) Increase the percentage of female full-time/managerial staff members.

Increase the proportion of women in full-time staff posts further, set numerical targets for the percentage of female managerial staff members, and report the progress to the Executive Board or other related parties.

3) Raise awareness of the importance of promoting gender equality among faculty and staff members.

Provide faculty and staff members with plenty of training and learning opportunities to increase their awareness of the importance of gender equality and help them share a common understanding of the promotion of gender equality.

1) Improve and expand the Life Event Support System.

Maintain and improve the existing Life Event Support System to help faculty and staff members, students, and other involved parties in juggling their educational activities, research, and work with their life events such as childbirth, childcare, and nursing.

2) Provide support for early-career researchers.

Develop and implement a variety of measures in order to allow early-career researchers experiencing childbirth, childcare, etc. to continue with their research/educational activities and those on leaves to come back smoothly.

3) Support female students in proceeding to further study/finding employment.

Offer career support services for aspiring female researchers. Particularly, provide female students specializing in science or engineering with career support aimed at helping them with their research career aspirations, for example, by showing them female role models and possible career paths. In addition, work in partnerships with high schools and other related parties to attract more female students to science, engineering, and other areas in which women are underrepresented.

1) Promote education and research related to human rights, gender, and labor.

Improve education in the areas of human rights, gender, and labor to help all students develop a better understanding of the significance of gender equality and work to establish an educational system that incorporates all necessary areas. Develop the research system required to achieve this objective.

2) Facilitate interactions with other universities and research institutes in Japan and overseas.

Communicate information about and results of initiatives that Waseda University develops and implements in the fields of education and research related to human rights, gender, and labor widely to people outside the University and facilitate active exchanges with other universities and research institutes in Japan and overseas.

1) Promote gender equality from a long-term point of view.

Incorporate the promotion of gender equality into the basic principles of the University as a whole and work to develop and implement the measures required to promote gender equality.

2) Conduct the necessary research and surveys for the promotion of gender equality.

Carry out the research and surveys required to implement the Gender Equality Basic Plan.

3) Advertise the progress of gender equality promotion.

Widely advertise the progress of the University’s promotion of gender equality by issuing publications of various kinds, providing rich information on the official website, using internal information materials, and other means.