Womanhood in Japan (November 2023)

“Womanhood in Japan” series column rounds up Japanese news related to women’s daily experiences of sexism here and considers what we can do to increase the pace of change.

Sony due to boost ratio of new female science and technology hires to 30%

Sony Corp. is expected to boost its hiring of women among new recruits for engineering and researcher jobs in the new fiscal year to an all-time high of about 30%, Kyodo News reported this month, citing sources familiar with the matter.

In the article, a professor of science and technology studies at the University of Tokyo, Hiromi Yokoyama, praised the plan, especially amid “the stereotype that science is for men.”

In a point crucial to the success of the new hires, Yokoyama noted that, “It is often said that if one group accounts for about 30% of the entire population, they are not a minority.” That means the women will have others to turn to for help with gender issues and generally feel like one of the group, rather than an exception.

Japanese companies are said to be having difficulty hiring female engineers because the number of women who major in science-related fields here is low.

In its Education at a Glance 2021 report, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development noted that while women everywhere tend to be under-represented in certain fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), in Japan in 2019, they represented just 16% of new tertiary entrants to the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction degrees. That was the lowest share among the 38 OECD countries.

Sony hiring women for 30% of its new engineers and researchers could be significant as it removes the excuse of there not being enough female candidates in these fields. It would also be one of the first examples of achieving a 30% quota, which has also been set by the government as a goal for the ratio of women in leadership positions.

A lack of female candidates is a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem. If Sony can help change the image in Japan of STEM-field jobs not being a conducive environment for women, it will help level the playing field for women and increase the number of potential candidates.

We look forward to an official announcement from Sony some time before the new fiscal year begins in April.

Ending barriers to STEM careers for women could boost Japan productivity 20%

Backing up Sony’s move is a report released this month by the International Monetary Fund that says eliminating the barriers women face to entering STEM careers could accelerate Japanese productivity growth by 20%.

The report, titled “Japan’s Economy Would Gain with More Women in Science and Technology,” is based on IMF analysis that automation and digitalization is needed to boost the labor productivity of Japan’s existing, dwindling workforce, but that both require STEM-based personnel, which is in short supply in Japan.

It calculates that encouraging more women to pursue careers in STEM would increase the average welfare of all workers in Japan by about 4%.

“Women worldwide face both explicit and implicit pay gaps in STEM fields,” the report says, noting that more needs to be done to eliminate the implicit pay gap caused by social norms in Japan, such as women shouldering housework and childcare. “Work-style reforms and a more flexible labor market are both essential. Labor-market changes in hiring and promotion based on merit, instead of seniority, would improve the returns on STEM education for women.”

“Over time, more talented women will be encouraged to join STEM fields once they can observe other women with successful careers in those occupations. When this happens, women with STEM training will innovate and contribute more to Japan’s economic prosperity.”

This outlook supports the use of quotas to increase the ratio of female workers. Quotas short-circuit the vicious cycle of a lack of women further discouraging the participation of other women. Government policy has pushed the Tokyo Stock Exchange to introduce guidelines for domestic companies listed on its Prime Market to increase the ratio of female directors to at least 30% and have at least one female director by 2025. But at the same time, many politicians have rejected the idea of applying quotas to political parties’ selection of candidates. They claim that doing so would see sub-standard women take up the positions, which has not happened in countries where quotas have been used in this way.

The new TSE guidelines have caused a flurry of new appointments of women to executive corporate roles. It works; it is increasing the ratio of women. So, let’s push for quotas.

There’s an interesting cultural note here, though, which is that because the government announced that it wants to see 30% women in leading positions, companies are acting accordingly and political parties have tried to increase the number of female candidates., even though there is no legal requirement. It has set a line in the sand for the whole society. And as is the way in Japan, people feel obliged to comply with what has been designated “appropriate action.”

This raises the question of what other social standards the Japanese could, and should, be setting.

And it brings us to the next article.

UN message gets lost in translation

An interesting thing happened here on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25. The United Nations’ Tokyo public relations office released a tweet that showed autumn leaves around the English phrase, “The Fall of the Patriarchy.” The explanation of this in Japanese began, “It’s fall. Let’s dismantle the patriarchy.” As well as being a poor translation, the choice of words also had many respondents saying, “What are they talking about? Japan did away with that years ago.” And that’s a head-scratching response itself, considering Japan’s large gender pay gap, low ratio of female politicians and leaders, and high reliance on women to carry out childcare and chores.

The incongruity comes from the similarity of the Japanese words for patriarchy and for the “Ie-seido” system of households and lineage that was designated by law in 1898 that gave the head of the household the authority to make decisions about other family members’ marriage and gave wives and daughters no inheritance rights. The eldest son inherited everything. These rules were in line with earlier principles from Confucianism that held that a woman must obey her father, her husband after she is married, and her children after her husband’s death.

The Ie-seido was abolished in 1947 when civil law was amended and a constitution drafted mainly by the occupation forces was enacted. The constitution granted women suffrage. This is what a number of people were referring to when they responded to the UN’s tweet by saying that Japan doesn’t have that system anymore.

The UN followed up the next day with a tweet saying that “the patriarchal social system based on inheritance by males still affects all areas of our lives.”

One of the respondents to the original tweet said, “I agree with eliminating violence against women, but I disagree with phrasing that suggests that a system of patriarchy is the background to that violence. It is unfortunate that violent husbands, sex offenders, and superiors that sexually harass exist, but that kind of system and custom no longer exists in Japan.”

Although the writer spelled out patriarchy in English, which suggests it was not the “ie-seido” that was being referred to, the types of people that are then described—the violent husband, the sex offender, the “seku-hara boss”—are all set phrases in Japanese, suggesting their acceptance as social phenomenon. Let’s get the government setting “guidelines” on these.

There are laws against these acts, but the social standards that apply before an offence is charged are a continuation of the ie-seido and other dated, misogynistic principles. Although it appears it is no longer being said, just a couple of decades ago it was often mentioned that women who went to the police to lodge a charge of a serious offence against a man had police ask them if they really wanted to do that because it would hurt the wife and children of the offender. Women were being held responsible for men’s acts.

Japan needs to update its thinking from the old patriarchal system. It needs moral standards for respectful treatment of girls and women to be formally expressed. This is something the government could do by specifically denouncing the actions of the violent husbands, the sex offenders, the sexual harassers.

Japan’s elderly politicians, though, have been raised by parents who lived under the ie-seido system that didn’t allow women agency in their lives and made them economically dependent, and which undoubtedly still influences Japanese society and such politicians’ thinking. Understanding this shows why Japan so desperately needs younger politicians. A 30% ratio for political party candidates under the age of 40 could be a very good idea.

In brighter news…

In June, Naomi Matsushita became the first female captain of a ship at Sogo Kaiun shipping company.

Matsushita says, “The atmosphere is lighter when women are on the ship; there is more verbal mutual communication and the feeling is more open, I think. Considering that the same members are together on board for long periods, the atmosphere of the ship is important.” (Wedge online)

Women’s entrance into this traditionally male domain seems to be improving conditions for all.

Womanhood in Japan series