Gender promotion differences in economics departments in Japan: A duration analysis

•The length of time from initial appointment to promotion to associate professor is greater for women than men.•For the spell from associate professor to full professor, childless women are promoted faster than childless men.•This 'Reverse gender promotion gap' disappears for married academics.

Using a unique data set from our survey of academic economists in Japan, we present the first detailed study of gender promotion gaps in Japanese academia. The length of time from initial appointment to promotion to associate professor is greater for women than men, largely due to women spending more time as lecturers, the lowest academic rank. The gender gaps in promotions from associate professor to full professor are more complex. Childless women are promoted faster than childless men. However, since the effects of marriage and children are negative for women, this 'reverse gender gap' disappears for childless married academics, and women's time to promotion becomes substantially longer than men's if they have children.