Women occupy only 5.9% of senior positions in the Japanese government
Women held just 5.9% of senior positions in Japanese government offices in Tokyo in fiscal year 2020, underscoring the country’s slow progress in closing the gender gap there. of work.
The Cabinet Office released data on Thursday showing that the share of these positions held by female civil servants increased by just 0.6 percentage points on the previous year, below the 7% target of the government.
People will work in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district, where most ministries are located, in December 2019. (Kyodo)
Seven of the 18 departments and agencies covered by the data did not meet the target. The National Public Security Commission was the worst performer with 1.4%, followed by the Ministry of Defense with 1.8% and the Ministry of Lands, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism with 2.1%.
The others were the Ministry of the Interior and Communications with 3.7%, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with 4.1%, the Board of Accounts with 5.9% and the Ministry of Finance with 6.3%.
The data shows how deeply entrenched traditional gender roles remain in Japan and the challenges faced in empowering women. The country ranks 120th in the World Economic Forum’s gender gap rankings, by far the worst among industrialized countries in the Group of Seven.
The top performers in the 2020 fiscal year which ended in March were the National Personnel Authority with 13.1%, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology with 11 .8% and the Cabinet Office with 11.5%.
The administration of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, for its part, adopted a new basic plan for gender equality in December, including a target for women to hold 10% of senior positions in government offices in Tokyo by the end of FY2025.
The government plans to hold further discussions this year on concrete measures to increase the share of leadership roles held by women, including the adoption of quotas.
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