Women in physics in Japan

We present results of a recent survey showing the gender inequality in scientific research in physics. We use the Japan Physics Society (JPS) member records for the past 40 years to estimate the gender difference of obtaining academic positions. More than 17,000 individuals belong to JPS, which covers majority of the researchers working on pure physics studies in universities or research institution. The records show that the ratio for women who remain as JPS members is less than that of men by 30% throughout the past 25 years. The women left physics research at a significantly higher rate over the 10 years since they were admitted as members of JPS. The result quantitatively shows the “leaky pipeline” problem of women physicists in Japan.