Nov 22, 2019 (Nikkei) - Sadako Ogata's contribution to the world was not limited to helping millions of displaced people as the head of the United Nations refugee agency. She also inspired many younger Japanese women to follow suit and fulfill professional ambitions on the world stage.
Ogata, who died in October, was the first woman to serve as the U.N. high commissioner for refugees. Footage of Ogata in a bulletproof jacket visiting war-torn regions during her tenure helped drive home the message that the organization offered opportunities not readily available to women in Japan.
The number of Japanese women working at the U.N. is on the rise, with their ratio far above that at central government offices or private companies.
According to Japan's foreign ministry, Japanese women on career-track positions at U.N. agencies totaled 542, with 41 holding senior management positions, as of January this year, an increase of 150% and 210% respectively from 2001. Female career professionals accounted for 61.5% of Japanese staff at the U.N., and 47.1% of Japanese holding senior U.N. positions.
At the U.N. as a whole, women in professional positions accounted for 44.7%, with 36.8% of senior positions occupied by female staff.
In May 2017, Izumi Nakamitsu became the U.N. undersecretary general and high representative for disarmament affairs. The position ranks below secretary-general and deputy secretaries-general. Nakamitsu is the first Japanese woman to hold the position, and there are eight Japanese working as assistant secretaries-general -- a rank below undersecretaries general -- including four women.
Nemoto meets with Nakamitsu at the U.N. Information Centre in Tokyo. (Photo provided by the United Nations)
"Japanese women who went to work for the U.N., inspired by Ogata-san, are now being promoted to senior positions," said Kaoru Nemoto, director at the U.N. Information Centre in Tokyo. Nemoto herself joined the U.N. in the 1990s, hoping to follow the trail blazed by Ogata.
The ranks of working women swelled after Japan bolstered legislation on gender equality in 1999, yet the country's track record on female employment still lags far behind that of the U.N.
As of this past July, women made up just 19.9% of central government bureaucrats, holding a meager 5.3% of management positions. The percentages in private sector are similar, with a fiscal 2018 government survey putting the proportions there at 18.8% for career-track positions and 11.8% for management posts, respectively. It may seem at first glance as if women have gravitated toward more international workplaces, but a look at internationally oriented Japanese bodies suggests this does not tell the full story.
Women accounted for 29.5% of Foreign Ministry staff and 6.1% of managers. The figures for the government-affiliated Japan International Cooperation Agency are similar, at 38.9% and 16.8%.
