In Japan, push to shatter glass ceiling spurs hope, doubts

Jul 18 (Al Jazeera) - Japanese corporate culture, which prides itself on gruelling hours spent in the office, has long been derided by critics as patriarchal and unfriendly to women.

Japanese women on average earned 21.1 percent less than their male counterparts in 2021, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), nearly double the average wage gap among developed economies.

Meanwhile, women make up only 14.7 percent of senior roles in Japan, compared with 42 percent in the US, 40 percent in Sweden and 37 percent in the UK, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to tackle this gender divide as part of his “new capitalism” aimed at narrowing societal inequality.

Under measures announced by Kishida earlier this year, large firms will be required to disclose differences in salaries between men and women, the ratio of female managers, and the rate of male employees taking parental leave in their annual financial reports.

The disclosure requirements, which will affect more than 18,000 businesses with more than 300 employees, are scheduled to take effect from March 2023, the end of the fiscal year. ...continue reading

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