Part 2 Womenomics- Its Critics and Solutions

Link to part 1 – Gender Equality in Japan Part 1

Part 1 in the Womenomics series looked at the history of gender equality in Japan and how the agenda has
evolved over the last 3 decades. Part 2 continues the debate observing the criticisms and possible solutions
for a successful outcome to the Womenomics agenda.

Abe’s Womenomics does not appear as radical as the 90’s “Vision” towards a gender free
Japan,-Note that the current Prime Minister wanted to squash the idea of a gender free
society when he was Secretary General for the LDP in 2005 - Womenomics may not be as
much an “about turn” as has been reported, but more a veer towards the middle ground-.
Critics have still noted that it has fallen short of expectations.
The original (and what some would call) optimistic target of a 30% increase of women in
leadership positions by 2020 -which has been decreased to a realistic 7%- leaves one
wondering why gender equality in the workplace has failed to take root after decades of
public policy, debates and changes to the law.
Possible reasons are;

• Laws and agendas are hard to implement in a conservative society where tradition still
prevails and expectations of the genders have considerable influence on everyday life.

• There is an obvious reluctance to destabilise or create a sense of disharmony, whilst

also acknowledging that in order to meet the targets in Abe’s 3-tiered approach to
stabilising Japan’s future economy - a change about how cultural norms and
traditional values will influence the future should be considered.

• A “Seniority based employment system” which promotes employees based on

perceptions of loyalty that include long hours and adherence to certain rules for men
and women concerning career progression.

• Abe’s failure to lead by example and promote more women in his government to
prominent positions, perhaps demonstrated by ‘An Old Boy’s Network’ that just can’t
‘get with the program’.

Abe has said that he wants Japan’s women to “shine” So the question is – How does Japan
even begin to make such fundamental changes for its future stability, whilst still maintaining
the tradition and culture which defines its uniqueness and -so far- has led to a society with a
relatively stable economy and low crime rate?
 Japan may rightly or wrongly fear destabilisation and anything that
challenges tradition and culture or the sense of order that they
have strove to maintain and Japan’s politics demonstrates that a
constant balancing act is always at work. An example of this is
shown in reports stating that whilst promoting Womenomics, Abe
has simultaneously encouraged women to stay at home for the
first 3 years of their children’s lives with critics condemning this as
a dichotomy of his Womenomics agenda.
Abe wants Japan's women to shine
– Josei ga kagayaku shakia o
tsukuru

But is it?
In order for women to succeed in the workplace,
childcare and maternity benefits are an important part
of any approach, agenda or policy that encourages
women to take up leadership positions. If we look at
countries like Finland who are renowned for some of the
best maternity benefits in the world, Finland’s generous
package enables mothers to take extended maternity
leave, provides a maternity grant and importantly
incorporates generous paternity leave, whilst also giving
couples the choice in how they divide care of their
children giving parents flexibility. There are also benefits
that enable parents to continue caring for their children
at home after the age of 2 and both parents are given
the choice to work part time.
Whilst the focus on Womenomics in Japan is In order for Womenomics to succeed, men should
also be taken into consideration
obviously on women in the workplace, how far have
men been factored into the equation? Workplace
gender equality is more than just upping statistics and a holistic approach to understanding
the barriers that women face in gaining senior positions and attaining equality in the
workplace are complex and multi – layered.
Currently only 2.6% of men in Japan take paternity leave even though they are entitled to it –
perhaps due to the stigma attached to extended time away from work and the effect this may
have on their career.
Encouraging and maintaining family values in a collectivist society, the issue of child rearing
by both parents is an important consideration, so whilst Womenomics may be viewed as
challenging tradition does it actually go far enough?
Destabilisation occurs when one idea, policy or agenda is implemented in isolation. Whilst
Womenomics in Japan makes an admirable attempt to address the issues around gender
inequality and an ageing population, without also observing the barriers to women’s position
in the workplace which include cultural expectations and men’s roles in gender inequality,
Abe’s ‘shining’ women may be unable to find their rightful place in the spotlight.
The preservation of tradition and culture can be achieved through a strategic and phased
approach to change by looking beyond gender equality and understanding the connections
that cultural values have across everyday life. These considerations could play a bigger part
of the agenda.
Again, using Finland as an example, whilst their maternity and paternity benefits may have
garnered world renown, Finland has a culture that lends itself to these values which is shown
in different spheres of their society. Would it suit Japanese culture to adopt such practices?
Perhaps some, but probably not all, however what Finland has been able to achieve in regards
to gender equality and work life balance is seeing paternity and maternity benefits as working
synergistically and every country must find it’s individual balancing point within its own frame
of reference.
Another issue that should be taken into consideration as part of the Womenomics agenda is
the impact of an ageing population in Japan. Beyond the problem regarding the amount of
people who will be able to work in the future, women are often carers of elderly parents and
this can have a significant impact on women’s (and men’s) ability to succeed in the workplace.
It was recorded that in 2010 that over 390,000 women left their jobs to care for elderly
relatives and whilst a relatively small (but larger than other countries) percentage of women
in the workplace find themselves in a position where they have to make this choice, over 85%
believe that this could impact on their careers in the future.
One positive factor to take into consideration is that Japanese women are high achievers in
education. According to the Economist,
Japanese women top the league tables,
however the percentage of women who
complete tertiary education (as defined
by the OECD 2014 survey as a bachelors,
Masters or PHD) is marginally lower than
the other OECD listed countries, but still
last in the OECD league tables, with just
2012 OECD chart highlighting Japan's female students as high under 50% of Japanese women going on
achievers in reading
to further tertiary education. Has
education also been factored into the Womenomics agenda?
There is still a long way to go and with reform there are always challenges, however
Womenomics thus far cannot be viewed as a failure. Since the start of the agenda, according
to a Financial Times report, over 750,000 women in Japan have joined the workforce taking
the percentage of women joiners up by 3%. Abe is also encouraging big companies to
promote the agenda and has set targets for companies requiring them to publish statistics
about gender equality. Big business is taking this agenda seriously.
Critics have noted that it is a lot easier for larger companies to buy in to the agenda and small
and medium sized businesses are still struggling, but the point is that larger companies lead
the way and set an example. It should also be considered that an ongoing debate can be used
to address the limitations currently being experienced by smaller companies.
More childcare places have also become available, easing the way for women to enter the
workplace and Abenomics has taken Japan’s ageing population into consideration as part of
the overarching Abenomics 3-tiered approach with plans to care for the elderly. This could
also have a positive impact on Womenomics.
All new policies take time to implement and whilst Japan finds its feet regarding gender
equality issues, it was never going to be easy, but a slow and steady approach may be the
best way for Japan and its women to proceed.

Further Reading
Maternity and Paternity Benefits (Kela Finland Website)
These 10 Countries have the best leave policies in the world (Chris Geller 2016)
OECD at a Glance Education 2016
The Economist – Holding Back Half the Nation (Briefing 2014)
The Financial Times Abe Pushes Womenomics to Shake up Japan’s Workforce Dynamic
(Demitri Sevastopulo 2014)
Japan Times – Abe’s boys club makes mockery of Womenomics (William Pesek 2016)
Gender Equality in Japan – The Equal Opportunity Law Re-visited Asia Pacific Journal
Stephanie Assman (2014)