How Japan’s #KuToo movement reveals sexist expectations of women

Attitudes shape people’s actions and their expectations of others. This plays out in ways big and small, especially when it comes to gender discrimination in Japan. Gender expectations can affect career opportunities for women and even their job conditions. Even today, there are practices that are not only discriminatory, but even harmful.

A Japanese woman named Yumi Ishikawa vented online about the pain that high heels caused her at her funeral parlor job. Even though she didn’t follow the dress code exactly, wearing 2 cm heels instead of the required 5 to 7 cm, the practice still gave her bleeding feet and blisters.

Her initial venting led to the #KuToo movement, which drew media attention in Japan and overseas. Some other companies force women to not wear glasses at work, more for image reasons (claiming they give a cold, unfriendly impression), rather than practical ones.

Ishikawa says that some backlash she received was from people who claimed dress codes had nothing to do with gender. It’s true that men may have to deal with restrictive dress codes in other ways, such as wearing a suit to work. But it’s clear that dress codes are also one small sign of sexist expectations in Japan.

Even smaller issues can tell us about the larger picture. Expecting women to follow strict dress codes is not much different from expecting them to follow certain job paths. This is especially true when these positions aren’t on the same career tracks with upward mobility that are available to their male counterparts. And regardless of their job type, when women are put in the position to deal with discriminatory attitudes and expectations, they are more likely to eventually quit the job.

Overhearing some female job seekers discussing their interviews recently, and it struck me how much of their conversation was about appearance. They talked a lot about what to wear to an interview and what people they know recommended, and nothing about the interview or job content.

Women who are more established in their careers are equally concerned with what they wear and how they come across too. This is not unique to women or Japan by any means, but it’s especially prevalent here.

These expectations are a burden for women and a loss for organizations and society. There’s no sensible reason why anyone should be uncomfortable to the point of physical injury, and there’s no real benefit for companies denying opportunities to talented female workers.

The exact way to tackle these issues depends on understanding the culture and norms of a country. It’s perhaps not something a lot of foreign residents, including myself, can really navigate.

Japan needs a massive rethinking of its ideas about gender. But Ishikawa’s fighting back against sexist expectations is a positive step. Small actions can still change people’s minds, and the #KuToo movement managed to spark debate in Japan. Changing how people think about an issue is the first step to more significant progress down the road.