European companies lead the way in tapping one of Japan’s most neglected business resources.
As the new DPJ administration struggles to bring Japan out of its deepest economic recession since WWII, it would do well not to overlook one of Japan’s most neglected resources: its women. Compared with much of the developed world, Japan has few women in senior business positions, and some point to Japan’s exceptionally low birthrate as evidence women are effectively being forced to choose between family and career. Japan lags far behind other developed countries in terms of economic, educational and political opportunities for women: The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2009 ranked Japan 75th among 134 countries, and last among the seven major developed economies.
Newly appointed minister, Mizuho Fukushima, whose portfolio includes consumer affairs, population and gender equality, is well aware of the challenge she faces: “It’s been very difficult for both men and women to combine a career and family and to work out a work-life balance. When women return to work after having children they tend to accept temporary positions and there is a big wage gap.”
“Childcare is the most challenging problem for women,” says Taeko Ohya, customer management director at METRO Cash & Carry Japan. “These days more men are supporting their wives with household tasks, but children have to be properly raised. If you want to develop a career at a senior level you need to devote time to work. What we really need is affordable childcare with flexible hours.”
“So many talented women in Japan are losing the opportunity to work because there is nowhere for their children,” agrees Reika Izumikawa, a store manager for retailer IKEA Japan. Seventy percent of the 400 employees she oversees at the company’s Shin-Misato store in Saitama are women. The store hopes to cooperate with other companies in a nearby shopping centre and set up a crèche for employee’s children.
Richard Mason, a director of Human Resources at TÜV Rheinland Group Asia, warns that it is not always easy to simply import international practices. “About 80% of European companies in Japan are staffed by Japanese natives so the everyday working environment can be quite Japanese. I’ve seen how the rigid labour laws do not make it easy to sell a true Western image in the workplace.”
Mason says discrimination towards women in the workplace is best illustrated by the pay gap statistics where the annual income of female executives is 30% to 50% lower than their male colleagues. “Only around 10% of females hold executive positions in Japan compared to about 40% in European nations. It is obvious that Japan has extremely well educated but under-utilised female talent,” he says.
“Some European companies have introduced childcare facilities and flexible work options in Japan, but many of these measures are superficial and don’t address the real issue. The biggest hurdle to overcome is the long-ingrained societal attitude of Japanese society towards the role of women,” says Mason. “Companies need to focus on their corporate cultures and management mindsets and convince their male managers that it is in their own best business interests to have a better gender balance in leadership.”
Practical support, like flexible hours and mentoring, also make all the difference, encouraging women back into the workplace after giving birth, says Yoriko Ijuin, human resources director at Tesco Japan. “We are planning to have a session for talented women about female leadership by our Asia regional leadership development director [a woman] this year.”
“It’s very important to have more women at a senior level and definitely easier if there is more than just one,” adds Mariko Kawaguchi, a human resources manager. One of the most senior women at Chanel Japan, Kawaguchi decided to work for the company as she had heard the president was looking for a woman to head the human resources department. “Ninety-two percent of Chanel employees are female so he wants more women in his senior management team,” she says.
The Japanese retail sector has been particularly successful in employing women at more senior levels, says EBC Retail Committee Chairman David Buckley. “Females are their primary demographic target so this has long made the retail industry worldwide more receptive to career-minded women, as they identify with their customers. Perhaps this has helped influence the increasing openness of Japanese retailers to working women.”
Companies offering a more equal workplace reap other advantages. The Japanese media are quick to report the best companies to work for and word spreads quickly. Such businesses attract the very best talent and, more importantly, keep them long term – a significant business advantage. Those with a more equal work culture in their homeland bring invaluable experience.
The early signs of a change in Japan’s male-dominated work culture are cautiously encouraging. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s new government saw a record 54 women win parliamentary seats in the recent lower house elections, and Hatoyama quickly appointed Keiko Chiba as the new justice minister, one of the most senior roles available.
New measures specifically to benefit women include giving cash to families with children, subsidizing higher education and changing the law that requires Japanese women to take their husband’s surname after marriage – a change blocked for more than two decades by the previous LDP-led government.
“I think it is also important to improve the working environment through the expansion of daycare services and to promote women’s social participation to managerial levels,” said Fukushima when asked, for this article, about her priorities in promoting equality.
“Consequently we are going to focus on promoting working environments conducive to taking childcare or nursing leave and returning to work afterwards,” says Fukushima. “We will look more to the work-life balance as a way for men and women to reconsider the way
they work.”
Gender gap – room for improvement
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2009, Japan ranks 75th among 134 countries for gender equality. Nordic countries have the smallest equality gap between men and women, while the Philippines remain the leading Asian country in the rankings. Japan’s ranking improved by 25 places from last year largely due to an increase in the number of women in professional and technical positions, as well as legislators, senior officials and ministers. The United States is placed 31st and China 60th. The index assesses countries in four categories: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political environment.