Japanese 12 science and engineering societies ally to invite more women

• Science and engineering societies ally for more women (in Japanese), Mainichi Interactive 6/9/02.
  (http://www.mainichi.co.jp/news/selection/archive/200209/0...)

In the centre of the move are the Institutes of Applied Physics, Chemistry and Physics of Japan. Unfortunately, the likes of IEEJ (Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan), who is under strong influence of the utility companies in Japan, will not follow this sort of trend. Probably Japan as a whole lags badly behind US and Europe in encouraging women into this sort of fields, but even here the proportion of women is less than that of men. This, therefore, means that the effort like this in Japan will not bring about the immediate results. However, the workforce of women is now desperately necessary to keep Japan competitive. What is expected is the patient, long-lasting activity.