Table of Contents

INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION

NUMBER 40, SUMMER 2005

Gender Stratification in Japanese Private Higher Education

Makoto Nagasawa
Makoto Nagasawa is a doctoral research associate in PROPHE, at the University at Albany, SUNY. E-mail: mn5391@albany.edu.
IHE devotes a column in each issue to a contribution from PROPHE, the Program for Research on Private Higher Education, headquartered at the University of Albany. See http://www.albany.edu/

Gender has hardly been studied in the international literature on private higher education, despite both the great international surge in private higher education and the increased attention to gender equality in general. Like social class and ethnicity, gender is a major issue in official and other discourse today, worldwide, and Japan follows that global tendency.

The private sector accounts for 86 percent of Japanese higher education institutions and 77 percent of enrollments, according to recent research at PROPHE. Other studies have established that the private sector generally trails the public sector in academic prestige. Yet, to understand issues like gender we must explore not only private versus public dimensions but extensive differences across private subtypes.

Four-year Universities
Four-year universities constitute the best known and most important part of Japanese higher education (In Japan, all four-year institutions are called daigaku with basically no distinction between university and college.). Examination of trends in female enrollment in these institutions shows that little has changed in recent years. The female enrollments have increased slightly but still amount to only 38 percent of the four-year university enrollment in 2002.

This low figure emerges even though the sector includes an ample number of women's-only institutions (with variable academic ranking). Indeed, along with a few other Asian countries, Japan is among the world leaders in the number of such institutions. They account for roughly 12 percent of the number of institutions in this four-year category—and at least 90 percent of them are private. Much of this women's college share overlaps with religious institutions. Religious foundations are allowed only in the private sector with no restriction on any religious groups or individuals setting up private institutions so long as they satisfy the government's educational standards, while the public sector is secular.

Whereas enrollments at these private universities have stagnated, the female proportion there has increased moderately. Thus, in this subsector the longstanding correlation between women and private higher education in Japan has intensified. So, a dual reflection of gender stratification at four-year universities exists: (1) fewer females than males in this prestigious sector; and (2) female concentration in the private subsector, which is generally less prestigious than the public subsector.

Graduate Schools
Regarding the 2002 total enrollments in graduate schools, another prestigious sector, females make up only 31 percent. They make up only 26 percent in the (national) public subsector, versus 39 percent in the private subsector. Therefore, first, regardless of the public-private distinction, females remain greatly underrepresented in graduate schools, and second, their public share is particularly low. On the other hand, female numbers have increased recently (1998¡©-2002), almost doubling in the public subsector.

Including the dimensions of field of study and level of program (i.e., master's and doctoral) illustrates the gender gap even more starkly in graduate schools (as it is in other higher education sectors as well). The higher the level (maximum=doctorate), the lower the female representation. The same holds true for the status of fields. For example, at the doctoral level, engineering is the most male-dominated field (89 percent in the public subsector), whereas home economics is totally female. In general, the gender gap by field of study is sharper at the doctoral than at the master's level. Furthermore, such gender differences by field persist in both public and private sectors.

Junior Colleges
Compared to four-year universities and graduate schools, two-year junior colleges are much less prestigious. Compared to the two institutional types just considered, private junior colleges have historically facilitated female access to a remarkable extent. This trend continues today. Junior colleges are dominated by private institutions (88 percent, with 91 percent of enrollments) and women constitute 89 percent of total private junior college enrollments. Additionally, among the total of 508 junior colleges in 2005, over 20 percent are women's institutions. Again, females clearly choose gender-linked disciplines. For example, home economics and education represent almost half of the enrollment choice by women. Thus, junior colleges demonstrate gender stratification in all three dimensions: private sector concentration, high total female enrollments in a less prestigious sector, and field of study concentration. Yet, it is noteworthy that the total enrollments at junior colleges are drastically decreasing (from 416,825 in 1998, to 267,086 in 2002).

Colleges of Technology
Colleges of technology also play an important role in gender stratification. This type of educational training is responsible for the rapid development of skilled technicians, promoting Japan's industrialization. In this sector the female presence is minimal. Colleges of technology are dominated by the public subsector and have very low female enrollments (18 percent); total female enrollments have decreased in the past five years, which suggests that these colleges are contributing to a wider gender gap. The fields of study available at colleges of technology are traditionally dominated by males.

Specialized Training Colleges
Specialized training colleges represent a vital subtype, given their sizable enrollments. Rather than academic subjects, they provide programs and curriculum for specific licensure, certifications, and vocational training. Like junior colleges, specialized training colleges are mostly relatively low in status and, like the former mostly private (91 percent). Though it may at first appear that gender equality exists, as females account for 54 percent of enrollments, stark gender stratification is again revealed in fields of study. According to a 1997 survey, females chose education and social welfare programs (72 percent) and dressmaking and domestic science (84 percent) over male-dominated fields (e.g. agriculture, industry).

In conclusion, an array of data supports the conclusion that gender stratification is strong on both sectoral and subsectoral levels. Females are overrepresented in the private sector, and at the subsectoral level, the gender gap manifests itself in all divisions (four-year universities, graduate schools, junior colleges, colleges of technology, and specialized training colleges); the prestigious sectors have the lower female enrollments. And across these sectors and subsectors the gender gap is aggravated by field-of-study differences.

[Online] Available: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/Number40/p10_Nagasawa.htm