Careers in Science—Perspectives of Women Researchers and Technical Staff

On February 12, an internal symposium to commemorate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGIS)^*1Click on this link to go to the glossary. was held at the RIKEN Kobe Campus as part of the Center’s efforts to celebrate the achievements of female scientists and promote diversity. The event brought together researchers, technical staff, students, and administrative personnel mainly from the Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR).

The IDWGIS Symposium featured lectures by four women researchers affiliated with BDR or connected to the center. More than 30 participants attended in person, and over 20 joined online. Approximately 70% of the in-person attendees were women.

The session began with a presentation by Li-Kun Phng, team leader of the Laboratory for Vascular Morphogenesis and a member of BDR’s Diversity Working Group, who introduced the current status of women researchers at the center. She also highlighted two initiatives that are actively promoted within the center to enhance diversity—the Power Hour^*2 and BDR Launchpad^*3.

Following the introductory remarks, four women researchers presented their latest research findings. The first speaker was Dr. Sayaka Sekine, who previously conducted research as a JSPS Special Research Fellow in Shigeo Hayashi’s Laboratory for Morphogenetic Signaling at BDR. Now an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Life Sciences at Tohoku University, she shared her latest research on the self-organization of actin cytoskeleton supporting tubular tissues in organisms. She also shared her career journey, including her involvement in promoting female faculty recruitment at Tohoku University and her experiences as a graduate student at the University of Tokyo and a postdoctoral researcher in a laboratory in the U.S.

Dr. Sekine’s presentation was followed by talks by three BDR researchers: Ayano Oi, a Ph.D. candidate in Fumiaki Obata’s Laboratory for Nutritional Biology, who recently completed her dissertation defense and will obtain her Ph.D. this spring; Dr. Yan Chen, a postdoctoral researcher in Li-Kun Phng’s laboratory who completed her undergraduate degree at a Chinese university and earned her Ph.D. in the U.K.; and Dr. Saori Takahashi, a researcher in Ichiro Hiratani’s Laboratory for Developmental Epigenetics for the past nine years who is currently navigating the challenges of juggling work and motherhood.

The event concluded with remarks from Team Leader Yu-Chiun Wang (Lab for Epithelial Morphogenesis) as a representative of the Diversity Working Group. He emphasized the importance of continuing diversity initiatives and reaffirmed the working group’s commitment to promoting gender equality and diversity within the center.

After the lectures, a networking lunch was held for technical staff with approximately 35 participants. Such a large gathering of technical staff was unprecedented, making this a valuable networking opportunity for all participants. The light refreshments served at the lunch helped to create a relaxed atmosphere for exchanging ideas.

This networking lunch was planned by volunteer technical staff in response to issues raised during the previous year’s IDWGIS Symposium and Power Hour discussions, specifically concerns about gender imbalance among technical staff, and the lack of career development support for them.

During the event, the results of a pre-event survey for technical staff were shared, clarifying existing challenges and concerns. Participants expressed their desire to share information with other technical staff, the need for more opportunities to improve skills and learn specific strategies for career development. Overall, the discussions emphasized the importance of preventing isolation at the lab level and leveraging the benefits of sharing information.

The participants unanimously agreed to continue holding similar meetings on a regular basis to help maintain their new network.

When asked about what impact she hoped the event had, one of the organizers, Hatsumi Okada, commented, "I hope this event will serve as a catalyst for networking among technical staff, leading to a more supportive work environment and better information sharing, ultimately helping us to make a more significant contribution to the organization (RIKEN) as a whole."