Gender Gap

Japan is likely to sink deeper into stagnation unless society can change in a way that makes it easier for women to play a greater role by capitalizing on their abilities. This problem is highlighted every year by Japan's abysmal positions in the international rankings of gender equality.

This year, Japan was ranked 94th of 134 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI), compiled by the World Economic Forum, a Geneva-based nonprofit foundation best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, that brings together business and political leaders from around the world. The index is based on such criteria as the ratios of men and women among members of parliament and corporate executives, and in wages.

Similarly last year, Japan ranked 57th among 109 countries in the United Nations' Gender Empowerment Measure, which measures women's standing in political and economic areas in a country.

However, Japan did take the 12th position among 138 nations in the rankings of the Gender Inequality Index, a measure of inequality in achievements between men and women introduced this year by the United Nations. The higher the ranking, the lower the inequality.

But Japan's relatively good performance was due to higher weight given to such criteria as maternal mortality.

This may make some Japanese breathe a sigh of relief. But the fact that the achievements of Japanese women in society are rated low despite their high marks for health and longevity underscores serious problems with Japanese society.

In the West, the hollowing-out of the manufacturing sector, which was supported mainly by male workers, took place in the 1980s as manufacturers shifted production to low-wage nations amid globalization.

This trend made it a crucial policy challenge in these countries to tap the abilities of women to nurture service industries.

In particular, improving the environment for women to work outside the home was regarded as the most pressing need. Consequently, efforts were made to increase the numbers of women in places like the corporate sections responsible for decision-making and in Congress.

In the Netherlands, where many male heads of households lost their jobs during this period, their wives entered the work force. For women who can't work full-time due to a shortage of child-care centers, the country enacted legislation to ensure that part-timers receive equal treatment at workplaces.

The introduction of the 35-hour workweek system in France was driven by calls for a system that makes it easier for women to work while raising children.

As international competition for the empowerment of women has spread, more countries have placed priority on promoting women's participation in politics. Now, more than 100 nations have adopted a quota system that assigns a certain percentage of elected seats to women.

This trend toward female empowerment was behind the decision to discuss how to expand the contribution of women to economic growth at this year's summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in November.

It is time for Japan to launch a national drive to reform the systems to ensure more effective use of the power of women for its economic regeneration.

Japanese society is awash in systems, rules and practices that hamper expansion of the role of women: poor policy support for child care and nursing care; excessively long work hours; tax and pension systems that discourage women from working.

One good starting point for change would be the introduction of a quota system or some other measure to increase the ratio of women among Diet members for a wholesale review of all these systems, rules and practices.

Women in farming households played the central role in developing farm products that appeal to consumers through initiatives like the "michi no eki" (roadside station) market program.

Impressive performances of Japanese women in international sports events leave little doubt that the nation stands to gain a lot by making better use of their abilities.

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201012300136.html