Dec 18, 2019 (Japan Times) - Japan’s attempts to create “a society in which women shine†are falling short, according to the World Economic Forum’s annual gender equality ranking.
The nation placed 121st out of the 153 countries in the rankings released Tuesday — a record low — performing by far the worst among the Group of Seven major economies.
Japan’s worsening gender equality as detailed by the Swiss-based organization’s report is sure to be a source of embarrassment for the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has long proclaimed to be pushing for an increased female presence in leadership positions.
“Japan’s gender gap is by far the largest among all advanced economies and has widened over the past year,†the report said.
The WEF report showed Japan slipping from last year’s 110th place, trailing rival Asian economies such as China and South Korea, which ranked 106th and 108th, respectively. It was also significantly outpaced by its G7 peers, including Germany (10th), France (15th), Canada (19th), the United Kingdom (21st), the United States (53rd) and Italy (76th). Chiefly responsible for the lackluster performance by the world’s third-largest economy is its abysmally low female participation in politics.
According to the report, women made up just 10.1 percent and 5.3 percent of the Diet’s Lower House and Abe’s Cabinet, respectively. Globally, the ratio stood at 25 percent for women in parliament and 21 percent for ministerial positions in 2019.
At just 10 percent, “female representation in the Japanese parliament is one of the lowest in the world†and “20 percent below the average share across advanced economies,†it said.
As a result, Japan — in terms of political empowerment for women — dropped to 144th this year, from the previous year’s 125th.
Source: ANNnewsCH
