Abstract The proportion of female researchers in Japan is low, and many institutions are implementing a range of measures to improve the gender balance. We discuss the past, present, and future of the gender equality at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). We show the change of the proportion of women in NAOJ from the graduate-student level to the senior-staff level. The number of female researchers in NAOJ is gradually increasing, but it is still low compared with similar institutions in other countries. Parenting support is one of the measures for the promotion of the gender equality in NAOJ. The supporting system is highly valued by younger researchers irrespective of gender, and significantly contributes to retain and attract young researchers to NAOJ.
Hayashi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.