Old Expectations and Traditional Role Models
Many who have been working with Japanese people on-site or in Japan for a long time will have noticed that some older managers used to have specific assumptions when meeting non-Japanese female employees.
This began with questions such as 'Where is your boss?' or 'I have never met a woman in your position,' when, for example, at a first meeting their American or European counterparts.
Many European female managers will also remember that in team meetings it was exclusively expected of female employees to 'get some coffee.'
Challenges for Women in Professional Life
Of course, this is no longer the case, but to this day women in higher positions in Japan are still not the norm. In 2023, 46.8% of all female employees were employed on a regular basis, yet they still earned on average 22% less than their male colleagues.
Additionally, there is a high number of temporary workers and fixed-term contracts, which pay about 40% less, resulting in a 'double pay gap.' 53% of all female new hires fall into this group.
Family, Childcare, and Gender Roles
Japan suffers from a severe population decline, partly because it is still very difficult to quickly return to work after having children, as there are far too few childcare places available.
Parental leave for men is legally provided for, but was almost never taken. Yet, in early 2020, a minister made headlines when he, despite his office (comparable to a state secretary), wanted to take a few weeks of parental leave and/or at least handle some tasks from his home office. In 2020, that was still 'breaking news' in Japan!
The background to all this is the ryōsai kenbo ideal, prevalent until 10–20 years ago, which assigned women the role of the 'good wife and wise mother.' According to this ideal, it was desirable to find full fulfillment as the guardian of the home and children.
It must be noted, however, that this often came with a position of power, as quite a few wives are still considered the 'finance ministers of the family,' and the husband only receives pocket money for lunch and evening outings with the team. There are even cases where, on days when the wife provides an o-bento (Japanese lunch box) for lunch, the husband has to retroactively return the amount he did not spend on meals at restaurants or the company cafeteria.
Historical Development and Legal Equality
Traditionally, the spheres of family and work were strictly separated, with many young women employed before marriage as 'office ladies' (OLs). The expectation that these female employees would not stay too long in the companies was already embedded in employment contracts, which clearly divided roles for men and women.
It wasn’t until 1986 that a gender equality law opened the way for Japanese women to truly pursue a career path.
Womenomics and Current Figures on Gender Equality
Against the backdrop of an emerging labor shortage, the Japanese government set an ambitious goal as part of Womenomics: 30% female managers by 2020, along with various measures to improve the framework for women.
Companies like Nomura Trust & Banking, which was the first bank to promote a female manager to the highest position, set a good example. However, it quickly became clear that this goal would not be reached by 2020, as there are still only 10.9% women in managerial positions (as of 2024), and in 43% of all companies in Japan there are no female managers at all (as of 2024).
Generational Change and International Developments
These numbers, however, are now changing rapidly, and in Japan more and more companies are committing to the goals of the '30% Club,' meaning at least 30% female representation in middle and executive management.
We can also see in subsidiaries abroad that there are now a certain number of female Japanese expatriates and managers, which simply did not happen before.
The attitudes of the younger generation have changed significantly. Many women today want to pursue a career with advancement opportunities.
In addition, for married couples the husband's income is often no longer sufficient to support a family.
Despite everything, there are now many more opportunities for women to have a career, but it must be noted that women still may have to work twice as hard as male colleagues to stand out and counter long-standing prejudices.
But isn´t that the case in other countries one wonders...
Interestingly, we are now also seeing female expatriates in the US and Europe whose husbands come along as 'tag-alongs'—instead of the other way around!
Shifts in Public Opinion
As with any social change, public opinion also plays a major role here. A prominent example is the scandal involving Yoshiro Mori, the former head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, in February 2021: During a meeting, he stated that meetings with women present 'take too long because women talk too much.'
The comment triggered nationwide and global outrage within hours; major sponsors exerted pressure, an online petition collected more than 150,000 signatures, and Mori had to publicly apologize and resign a few days later.
This incident shows that openly sexist remarks today face significantly stronger backlash than just a few years ago—and that in this respect, things are also changing in Japan.
