Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2021

convener:Rie Hori, S.(Department of Earth Science, Faculty of Science, Ehime University), Chiaki T. Oguchi(Institute for Environmental Science and Technology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University), Claudia Jesus-Rydin(European Research Council), Eiichi Tajika(Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo), Chairperson:Rie Hori(Department of Earth Science, Faculty of Science, Ehime University), Kazuyo Sakanoi(Komazawa University), Natsue Abe(Mantle Drilling Promotion Office, MarE3, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology)

In the last decades efforts have been made to raise awareness on the underrepresentation of women in the geosciences. Numerous actions were initiated and supported by geosciences societies across the world, such as AGU, EGU and JpGU. Despite this, the progress is slow and the barriers complex, and the underrepresentation of women remains a reality.
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for our society that must tap the potential of every talented mind to develop solutions for a sustainable future. The existence of under-representation of different groups (cultural, national, and gender) remains a reality and a threat to getting maximal value from research investment across STEM fields around the world, including the geosciences.
Professional societies have a privileged position to catalyse change by setting
the tone and leading by example. Promoting fairness and inclusion, in a safe
environment, to all members are common goals, which require effective concerted actions. In this session, speakers will present and discuss data showing the evolution of women representation retrospectively. Furthermore, concrete examples of successful actions and future initiatives to bridge the gender gap in the geosciences are presented.