AsianScientist (Aug. 2, 2017) – Ten female researchers each received one million yen (~US$9,000) in grant funding from Shiseido at the 10th Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant Award ceremony held on July 7, 2017 at the Shiodome FS Building in Tokyo.
Presenting the grant was Shiseido’s corporate executive officer and chief research and development officer, Mr. Yoichi Shimatani. In his opening statements at the ceremony, Shimatani recognized that Japan needs to further increase the number of female researchers.
Shiseido thus established the Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant in 2007 to support female researchers who are aiming to be leaders in their respective fields. There are no age restrictions on applicants, and the grant has been expanded to include research areas across the entire spectrum of the natural sciences.
Shiseido allows these funds to be used by female researchers to hire research assistants or babysitters while on business trips, thus reducing the disruptions frequently encountered by women in science.
Shimatani also mentioned that the grant brings together high-level research themes every year, and nearly half of the past recipients were promoted after receiving this grant.
“Slowly but surely, the grant’s purpose of supporting female researchers who are aiming to be leaders is being achieved,” said Shimatani.
“It is a great pleasure for me to earn this award. I continued to apply for the grant because I agreed with its aim, which is to support women who aspire to hold leadership positions,” said Dr. Natsumi Ageta-Ishihara, a lecturer at Nagoya University, in her speech as a representative of the grant recipients. “It has always been my goal to become a leading researcher. I thought the grant was a stepping stone to promotion.”
The grant recipient in 2016, Assistant Professor Tomoko Kamasaki of Hokkaido University, congratulated this year’s recipients. “I used the grant to hire technical support staff and created a research group to continue my research activities today. As a researcher, I am moving up step by step. I am strongly aware of what this grant can do. Researchers can utilize the grant for various purposes to fit their needs such as raising children and improving work conditions. Let’s do our best to continue our research activities!”
Moving forward, Shiseido will continue to use the Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant to create an ideal environment for women to pursue research activities, nurturing them to attain leadership positions.
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Source: Shiseido; Photo: Shiseido Group.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
