Japan has the lowest percentage of women studying science: OECD report

The organization’s latest annual report showed that Japan had the lowest percentage of women studying science out of 36 similar OECD countries in 2019.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development noted a large gender gap in Japan in fields known collectively as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and said the country needed to inspire women to pursue these studies.

In science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in Japan, women in science, math, and statistics made up 27% of tertiary education, well below the OECD average of 52%, according to its Education at a Glance 2021 report.

A report released in mid-September looked at the proportion of women in higher education in 2019, and Japan announced the fiscal year ending in March 2019 for 2018.

Most were registered in Slovakia with 65% and then in Poland with 63%. The Czech Republic and Lithuania accounted for 60%.

Japan was the second lowest in Belgium, at 40%.

In technology, manufacturing and construction, the proportion of women in Japan was only 16%, compared to the OECD average of 26%. The highest percentage was 39% in Iceland, followed by Poland with 36% and Greece with 33%.

Japan ranked lowest among the 37 similar countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in terms of the amount of national wealth spent on educational institutions in 2018.

Public spending on primary and tertiary education was 2.8% of GDP in Japan and Ireland, compared to the OECD average of 4.1%.

Norway was the most committed, at 6.4%. Costa Rica and Iceland lag far behind, consuming 6.2% and 5.5%, respectively. Among other countries, France used 4.5%, the United States 4.1%, and the United Kingdom 3.9%.

Between 2012 and 2018, public and total spending on primary and tertiary education grew at a slower rate than GDP on average in all OECD countries except Chile, Hungary and Iceland.