Events

IWD2022 at UTokyo: Videos

Last updated: 12 March 2022

Happy International Women's Day, to the women of UTokyo!

"Progress we have made"

This first of two short films was made to reflect on the progress made towards gender equality at the University of Tokyo over its 145-year history. From Kono Yasui becoming the first Japanese woman doctoral degree holder in 1927, via the admission of the first female students in 1946, through to the establishment of the Office for Gender Equality in 2006, and to women becoming a majority of UTokyo’s executive board in 2021, we hope that this video will help to revitalise important individuals, organisations, and moments along the university’s path to its current status as an increasingly active supporter of women.

At the same time, we hope to remind the UTokyo community that the future of women at the University of Tokyo has yet to be written, and will be shaped by all of us.

Thank you to the Science Library, the University of Tokyo, for allowing us to film on their premises. Thank you to Ochanomizu University for providing us with photos of Kono Yasui and Michiyo Tsujimura, and to the Naruse Memorial Hall, Japan Women’s University, for providing us with photos of Hideru Suzuki. Thank you also to the Todai Shimbun for giving us access to materials from their archives.

"Step by step"

This second of two short films looks through the eyes of current female students and researchers at the University of Tokyo, towards the future of technology and society. We hope this video will help to draw attention to the diverse women conducting cutting-edge research at UTokyo, and to encourage female students to take their own next steps in the direction of their dreams and aspirations.

Thank you to the Public Relations Office of the Graduate School of Engineering (工学系研究科広報室) for providing us with footage from “狂ATE THE FUTURE”, and to the University of Tokyo for providing footage from “Discover our people”. Thank you also to our photo participants for contributing to this video through their creative “step by step” gestures.