Japan ranks 120th in 2021 gender gap report; worst among G-7

The problem is that nobody here really cares - certainly the govt doesn't, the media doesn't and the majority of the electorate does not either.

Are people really surprised? Look at the male dominated cabinet, look at the number of top jobs filled by men, look at politicians like Asp Taro saying that women needed to stay home and reproduce, Mori saying women talk too much.....the list is endless. But as nonu6976 pointed out, there isn’t enough furore or uproar in the media about this issue.

Many of the foreign women in our company don’t last long in Japan. The foreign men tend to last longer. We’ve also lost quite a few of our best and brightest Japanese women to jobs overseas. My wife is itching to get out.

Not the best place for a working woman.

The share of women working part-time was almost twice that of men and the average Japanese woman's income was 43.7 percent lower than that of a Japanese man, it added.

So what? Women go after low paying jobs. Of course they will have a lower income on average. These numbers are meaningless unless all other factors are the same.

Show me 100 women and 100 men in the same field, same position, same approximate experience, etc. and show me a 43.7 percent lower average income for the women. You can't because there is no gap like that.

@Kev James

Are people really surprised? Look at the male dominated cabinet, look at the number of top jobs filled by men, look at politicians like Asp Taro saying that women needed to stay home and reproduce, Mori saying women talk too much.....the list is endless. But as nonu6976 pointed out, there isn’t enough furore or uproar in the media about this issue.

The media are owned by and large by men, so why would they rock the boat?

If I had my way, the place would be full of 'em.

I think many here are patting themselves on the back and congratulating the country on the huge step forward. Wasn’t it 124 last year?

Thomas: “Show me 100 women and 100 men in the same field, same position, same approximate experience, etc. and show me a 43.7 percent lower average income for the women. You can't”

You’re right, because women are not allowed the same jobs. Period. And you can blather on about how that’s not true and women “choose” not to get the jobs men traditionally have held and still do here, but please wait to come back and tell us that nonsense until the government says there should be a female emperor if a female is next in line, but that female, say Aiko, declines.

7 out of 156 countries is moot and not relative stats wise to thins poll.

And you can blather on about how that’s not true and women “choose” not to get the jobs men traditionally have held and still do here

To be fair, I know women in our company who declined the opportunity to move to management level due to the extended hours that would come with it. One of the sharpest and most efficient workers I’ve ever worked with is a woman with kids who turned it down. It’s very difficult for a Japanese man to decline that opportunity.

That said, there is still clearly a massive bias towards having men in the top roles, and as I posted earlier, the best and brightest women who want to fly high often see this and get out or drop out.

Improving the work-life balance in Japan, even for those in management positions, would be a practical step forward for working women. I’m actually optimistic here given the attitudes of many of the younger staff I work with.

Soon, the dinosaurs will all be gone. I can't wait for change to come.

You have a point @nonu6976 3:55p

*The problem is that nobody here really cares - certainly *the govt doesn't, the media doesn't and the majority of the electorate does not either.

The government, through the media, prefer people to be more divided; manipulated and focused on perceived inequities and ‘gender gaps’ in innocuous issues like ‘changes to theme park announcements’ and other ‘pop culture’ diversions. ALL of these ‘diversions’ are much easier ‘targets to focus on’ with inconsequential debates, than addressing ‘real issues that needing change’, like mental health services, pay gaps, day care, etc.

Sorry, @Seth 4:10p It doesn’t have ‘Slam’ anywhere in the title. And these words, are too severe. But, we can use them here to “criticize, censure, denounce, condemn and lambast” the Japanese governments’ failure to keep up with the other G7.

“Japan ranks 120th in 2021 gender gap report; worst among G-7” -

Nothing to be surprised about. This is Japan.

Never will change, until the female gender inferiority and the gender roles (women=stay at home and raise children) will continue to be taught from elementary school, from TV, from society.

In the EU and the USA, the girl-power means to be intelligent and to be at the same level as men. Instead, in Japan the girl-power 女子力 means to be cute, to be able at cooking, to act childish and a little dumb (so that the Japanese man feels comforted and feels stronger).

Just see the role of women in Japanese TV shows, in Japanese society, in Japanese companies (ask a woman colleague, in a company in the EU/USA to stop her work and to prepare tea/coffee for a meeting, and say her that it is a women’s duty, and she will kick your a**)…..just see the over-sexualization of women from a very young age in all media (idols, manga, anime, games.....).

And, it is sad to say but, as a result of this indoctrination, a big portion of Japanese women are perfectly comfortable in this gender-gap condition. Most women like to stay at home, to have a lot of free time, to spend time at joshi-kai女子会 (female-only afternoon party at café or family restaurant), to attend cooking schools, to go shopping.

Japan will never change, also because both the old and the new generations are not interested in their country’s politics.

Most women that do not like this gender-gap move overseas. It is not a surprise that the majority of Japanese living overseas are women.

And, maybe I will be criticized for what I will say now but……not only do Japanese men have to change but also a big portion of foreign men living in Japan. Yes, because several foreign men who married Japanese women like this situation. Many foreign men who moved to Japan are weeaboos searching for a “waifu”, men that like the abovementioned type of girl. Not all, of course, but from what I saw during my two years in a Japanese language school in Tokyo, from what I see in my company (where there are other foreigners), from what I see when I meet foreign-Japanese couples, at least 60% of foreign men wishing to live in Japan are anime/manga brainwashed men and they want to marry a Japanese woman.

Japan must change.

And if we are going to be honest.... probably the majority of women in Japan don't care. They really seem resigned to this situation. Sadly.

That was expected! But some Japanese men I know would definitely disagree and one in particular would say as he did before that men are superior to women... So as far as I am concerned, Japan should be even lower in the ranks, maybe like 155th

Japanese women are powerful in the home. They know what men want and need. Don't be fooled by these stats. How many Japanese men control the bank accounts, the monthly salary? Perhaps 3% to 10%?

Japanese women know what they are doing and very much in control, often do not have to go to work and live luxurious lives.

Japan will not change its starts when mothers treat their baby boys different from their daughters, and when they pink hats are separated from the yellow or blue hats in pre-school and then junior high school. The roles are learned and accepted. When the women do graduate and get a job they either go to a University to get a Ms, or a M.R.S. if they can't find him their they find him on the job and once that happens she quits to become a certified HOME MAKER!!!

In Sweden, where we have come a long way with gender equality, women account for two thirds of all cases of mental illness and men for one third.

Source: A knowledge overview of Nordic research published during the years 2010 - 2019.

Everything has its price.

You’re right,

Full stop.

because women are not allowed the same jobs. Period. And you can blather on about how that’s not true and women “choose” not to get the jobs men traditionally have held and still do here, but please wait to come back and tell us that nonsense until the government says there should be a female emperor if a female is next in line, but that female, say Aiko, declines.

Using the emperor as an example is terrible. It's a binary option. We either have a male emperor or a female empress. Saying there is sexism because one exists and not the other is ridiculous and does not help the common person.

That said, show me 100 people. Shoot - show me TEN men and women with the same background and I'll show you 20 people with very comparable salaries. The gap is nonsense numbers. Apples are not oranges, yet people want you to believe they are.

Shocked to see that Japan is 120. I thought it would be even lower than that.

@justasking: Soon, the dinosaurs will all be gone. I can't wait for change to come.

You can’t wait for old people to die?

I am always annoyed by foreigners telling other people how they should be in their own countries. The UN, the World Economic Forum, expats and other interested gaijin on JT. I have an opinion of course. I certainly wish my wife had more opportunities in Japan. I also wish I had more opportunities in Japan. But it’s not my place to condemn Japanese society for not living up to Western standards or worse, my standards. It’s not up to me to tell a culture thousands of years old how best it should function.

There are a lot of Japanese women who like things just as they are. There are lots who don’t. You can say the same for woman in every country - including the G-7. Despite the higher ranking are women better off and more happy in the US? I doubt it. The culture pushes them to be more unhappy because every stat isn’t 100% exactly equal to men in every desirable category. They skip the undesirable stats like incarceration rates, deaths on the job, manual labor occupations, etc. Japan doesn’t have to be like the country I am from - or yours.

When Japanese women want to change the status quo they will do so. All Japanese men know the women here are stronger than they are. It is why they hand over their salary and get a pittance for pocket money.

Perhaps Japanese women choose to be the stronger one, staying home upholding family . . . upon which their society rests?

Jimizo: "One of the sharpest and most efficient workers I’ve ever worked with is a woman with kids who turned it down. It’s very difficult for a Japanese man to decline that opportunity."

Yeah, but you guys seem to be missing the obvious point: it is difficult for a Japanese man to decline that position BECAUSE of the gender issue. You can't say, "Well, that's not fair... I mean, look, a woman simply can't take a power position because she needs to stay home and take care of the kids, where fathers are still mostly not allowed to. So, it's not really a gender thing."

fwiw, Japan is 120th having closed 65% of its gender gap, Australia is 53rd having closed 73%. This must be a very narrow Bell Curve because 65 to 73 isn't a massive difference.

As other posters have pointed out, some Japanese women are happy with the way things are and aspire to be housewives, not the company directors or members of parliament these studies focus on. One thing I will say though is that the idea of a woman being a non-working housewife only really dates from the 1960s, when all the tax breaks and spousal dependency were introduced to support it. It is not an idea that dates to way back when in Japanese culture. In 1909, 10% of all Japanese women worked in coal mines, many of them underground. They were not at home making bentos or going to PTA meetings.

Japan ranked 120th among 156 countries in the gender gap rankings in 2021, remaining in last place among major advanced economies, a Swiss-based think tank said Wednesday.

The other G-7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany and the United States -- ranked between 11th and 30th. In Asia, the Philippines was the best-performing country at 17th, while South Korea came in 102nd and China 107th.

Hey look, Japan finally wins something. They beat both China and South Korea in being the most sexist! Good job Japan, keeping it old man dominated since...............forever.

I'm passed caring, to be honest.

She warned the view might have a negative economic impact such as a decrease in foreign investment.

Who needs foreigners to invest in Japan.

Japan can invest domestically.

In Asia, the Philippines was the best-performing country at 17th

Not sure if that’s a model to look forward to.

Philippines is nearing Japan in population but is 1/10th of Japan economically and has been the “sick man” of Asia for decades.

Japanese retail survives on female shoppers. If women become drones and work long hours, Japanese retail and coffee shops will collapse.

Japan is ruled by women.....

Red suns

Not sure if that’s a model to look forward to.

Philippines is nearing Japan in population but is 1/10th of Japan economically and has been the “sick man” of Asia for decades.

And yet it still beats Japan in gender equality.

Maybe it's generic not just cultural.

*genetic

I can tell you one thing : in Japan, women are more happy and satisfied if you ask them compare to other countried better ranked.

Male and female are different and a gap is natural. It does not mean society cannot tend towards filling desires such as taking care of kids for numerous years (and not only when babies) or passing time for best shopping enabling better family purse management.

PS : I wish my Japanese wife was not passive...

Japan doesn’t have to be like the country I am from - or yours.

Well said, @Wolfpack. I agree strongly.

Not surprised at all, well established already, but I think Japanese are fine with it, if not we would have seen changes.

Mark

Not surprised at all, well established already, but I think Japanese are fine with it, if not we would have seen changes.

Frankly, it's an embarrassment. As a family, we left Japan (and went to one of the top countries on this list). I want my daughter to have the same opportunities as I had. In Japan, that is impossible.

Who needs foreigners to invest in Japan

That's part and parcel of capitalism; foreign investment.

Even by the act of being a resident here, you are investing in Japan.

Unless, you wish to leave our wonderful host nation?

To put this into perspective, the English football league structure has 20 teams in the Premiership, 24 in the Championship, 24 in League One, 24 in League Two and 23 in the National League. That's 115 teams. 121st would be Boston United (NL North) or Hampton & Richmond (NL South).