2020 Report on Survey on Awareness and Status of Diversity at The University of Tokyo

In October, 2021, President Teruo Fujii released “UTokyo Compass,” a statement of guiding principles of the University of Tokyo, comprising three pillars— “creation through dialogue,” “diversity and inclusion,” and “a university that anyone in the world would want to come to.” This report of the survey serves as an important and useful resource for creating a campus that meets the needs of everyone, which is essential for realizing the three fundamental principles laid out in UTokyo Compass. 

The survey was conducted between December 15, 2020, and January 31, 2021. The first survey of its kind actually dates to 2001, when the university conducted “A Questionnaire Regarding Sexual Harassment.” This was repeated every other year in 2003, 2005, and 2007 but unfortunately was later suspended. The 2020 survey is a resumption of these past questionnaires.

This survey was conducted online for the first time, and it posed questions to all members of the university community. Despite some methodological issues that had to be addressed, we were able to get replies from almost a quarter of the university community (26% for faculty and staff, 25.6% for students, totaling 11,939 responses), which exceeded our initial expectation. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to this survey.

The survey content was also updated to include questions about online harassment and diversity in gender orientation. For questions regarding sexual harassment issues, the survey asked for attributes of the person in question as well as the general profile of respondents in order to better delineate the problems to solve and issues to improve for the University of Tokyo community of about 40,000 people, including students, faculty, and staff. This survey, however, should not be treated as completed. Rather, I hope it will encourage all the members of this university community to reflect on their surroundings and offer them ideas for creating a better campus.

Sadly, according to this survey, the percentage of those who experienced sexual harassment has not decreased since the last time. Many respondents also left earnest and serious appeals in the comment section. Those who have been subjected to harassment are not only women but also men, members of the sexual minority, and non-Japanese nationals (and the harassments include not only sexual but also power and academic ones). The university will carefully assess the results of this survey to formulate the necessary measures for the future.

 

• Report on Survey on Awareness and Status of Diversity at The University of Tokyo, 2020 (PDF)
• Report on Survey on Awareness and Status of Diversity at The University of Tokyo, 2020: Summary (PDF)
• 2020年度「東京大学におけるダイバーシティに関する意識と実態調査」報告書 (Detailed report: Japanese) (PDF)
• 2020年度「東京大学におけるダイバーシティに関する意識と実態調査」報告書【概要版】(Summary: Japanese) (PDF)