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Companies need to learn to retain and train women, across the region, not just in Japan. Governments can only do so much, they can’t intervene in the inner workings of an organization.

9 Comments

Kathy Matsui, vice chair of Goldman Sachs Japan, saying Japan has hit a wall on progress for working women after a big push.

© Bloomberg

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What if it is the case the gals here don't see a need to be retained nor want the training? Just asking for a friend.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Reduce working hours for all to reasonable levels and more women will work in positions now taken by men.

Japanese men lead the world in minutes worked per day (including holidays), 6 hours 15 minutes per day, or a 43 hour week, every single week. This is 14 hours a week (two full days) longer than the OECD average. Add on a commute and you're at 50 hours every single week. That's what women have to do to be equal with men, and since two wrongs don't make a right even if it were achievable, it needs to come down.

https://workstyle.ricoh.co.jp/article/workingtime.html

1 ( +1 / -0 )

About a third of my female students are pretty openly dismissive about working because they know it's not worth it and being a housewife is a far more attractive option

Remind them that men, on average, do not earn as much as they used to.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I agree working time should be reduced to entice more females to join the corporate rat race, more conducive work environments (less sexual, pregnancy, and power harassment), and less sexual discrimination would go a long way to attracting females who want to have a career.

As for governments not intervening in the inner workings of a company, yes, they can. The government just needs the courage, conviction, and competence (the 3 Cs) to enact laws and set up agencies that side with labor rather than management. Doubt it will happen in my lifetime in a certain, un-named so-called safety country.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Ha when you are taught from birth until death you are a slave its hard to change, might happen but expect grumpy old men on TV being upset their revenue is in jeopardy.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

kyushubill

Japanese men lead the world in minutes

Responding to this bit, what I read from OECD, Mexico, Costa Rica, and South Korea work more hours than Japan. The country with a strong economy, Germany, works far LESS, so companies should increase proficiency. I wonder how many females will be willing to be a karoshi statistic,

2 ( +2 / -0 )

...saying Japan has hit a wall on progress for working women after a big push

off a precipice

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Someone tell her that companies don't do a lot of training these days. That's what MBAs, computer science degrees, college-sponsored internships, technical certification courses at community colleges, etc, etc. are for, and why those programs, paid for by the student, are way, way bigger than ever before.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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