Prime Minister of Japan Calls for More Women in Corporate Boardrooms

The Prime Minister of Japan is asking the business sector to improve the number of women holding executive positions in their firms. This request is part of a number of reforms aimed at stimulating the Japanese economy. Prime Minister Shinzō Abe said that Japanese women are the country’s most “underused resource.”

Now, promoting more women to executive roles is evidently part of his business reform agenda. The Prime Minister believes that this move will complement current efforts being done to boost the Japanese economy. The stimulus plan is focused on facilitating a looser monetary policy and increasing public-works spending.

Time to remedy the situation

Based on reports, only 15% of companies in Japan today have female executives and only 1.6% of executive seats are occupied by women in the companies listed. Prime Minister Shinzō Abe politely asked business leaders to remedy the current situation. In a recent statement, the Prime Minster compels leaders to set a new target: one female executive for each company.

Women are encouraged by this statement from their Prime Minister but they say that the government needs to do more to make concrete inroads in empowering women in Japan. Japan is traditionally a male-dominated society. In this country, a woman’s appointment to board-level position is headline news.

Empowering women

Prime Minister Abe pinpointed the fact that very few women reach top positions in the organizational charts of Japanese corporations. He is encouraging the business sector to continue to search for ways on how to boost the presence of female executives and board rooms. He proposes that new measures be implemented including boosting the roles of women in the business community by giving them more important roles to play in the corporate world.

In Europe, women occupy 14% of board-level positions. This number is already considered low and it has been the subject of various debates. Japan’s target is much lower by comparison.

For the economy

According to the Prime Minister, if the Japanese business community will respond by increasing career opportunities for women especially in the higher echelons of the corporate ladder, then more females will be employed. This will greatly contribute to reversing the decline in Japan’s working population.

Finally, a concrete move

The Prime Minister’s statement is very encouraging to women who say that finally, the government of Japan is taking women’s needs seriously. Abe is not alone in his belief that women in Japan will play a critical role in the economy and that the country’s future is dependent on how much empowerment Japanese women are given in corporate settings.

Modern Japan’s view of women remains largely feudal. Looking back at the country’s rich history, women’s roles were largely limited to serving their men and their families. The Japanese women of today have been calling for more opportunities and for the right to determine what the future holds for them. Women in Japan have been dominated by men for centuries and a change in perspective is a welcome sign that the stigma attached to the female population might be replaced by a more contemporary view.