March 8th is International Women's Day.
A group of professors at Sophia University has released the "Prefectural Gender Gap Index," which analyzes the degree of gender equality in each region.
What are the differences in gender disparities between prefectures?
And what are some tips for narrowing the gap?
The prefectures where the gender gap is small are
The "Prefectural Gender Gap Index" was published by the "Regional Gender Equality Study Group" formed by Professor Mari Miura of Sophia University.
Data on 30 indicators in 4 fields published by the Cabinet Office and others were analyzed using almost the same method as the World Economic Forum, which investigates gender disparities in countries around the world. The index was issued for each prefecture.
In politics, Tokyo was the only city with a score of 0.3, and the percentage of female members of parliament in metropolitan and municipal assemblies was the highest in the country.
Seven prefectures, including Kanagawa and Chiba, ranked second and below, had an index of 0.2.
Tottori Prefecture ranks first in terms of administration.
In addition to having the highest ratio of women at section manager level in prefectures and municipalities nationwide, the rate of childcare leave taken by male employees in the prefecture was also the highest at 44.3%.
On the other hand, five prefectures, including Tokushima, ranked 2nd, scored 0.3, and most of the 7th and lower ranked prefectures scored 0.2.
In terms of education, Kochi Prefecture ranked first.
The index was 0.665, partly due to the fact that the rate of women going on to four-year colleges exceeded that of men.
Other prefectures were 0.4 or higher.
In terms of the economy, Okinawa Prefecture, which has the highest ratio of female presidents in Japan, ranked first with an index of 0.388.
Other prefectures were also 0.3 units.
Tottori Prefecture, which ranks first in administration, declares “IkuBoss/Famiboss Declaration”
Tottori Prefecture, which ranked first in the field of administration, is said to have increased the percentage of female managers by actively assigning female staff to areas related to external communication and policy decisions. Analyzing.
In addition, in Tottori Prefecture, all managers make an “IkuBoss/Famiboss Declaration” as bosses who support the balance between work, childcare, and nursing care. We are supposed to create an environment, and we are reflecting the status of that effort in the personnel evaluation of managers.
The percentage of women in managerial positions in the prefectural government remained at about 11% for the six years up to 2013, but has gradually increased since 2014, and this year there are 137, or 22.7%, of 603 managers. are women.
According to the Cabinet Office's summary, the ratio of female managers has been the highest in Japan for seven consecutive years.
Female section manager in Tottori Prefecture “Atmosphere and work environment where everyone helps each other”
Ms. Tomoko Yoshino, who is the manager of the section in charge of the Nenrinpic, a sports and cultural festival for people aged 60 and over, became a prefectural official in 1992. After giving birth to two children, she took childcare leave. In 2019, I was promoted to a managerial position after balancing work and child-rearing.
Ms. Yoshino said, "When I joined the agency, there were no female managers around me, but as the number gradually increased, I was able to ask experienced female managers to teach me know-how, and I consulted them. I want to pass on the atmosphere and work environment where everyone helps each other to all workplaces. I want to support my subordinates so that they do not hesitate or hesitate to use the system. was talking
Miyazaki Prefecture tops "Husband's participation in raising children" Why?
Here are some survey results:
"Men in Miyazaki spend the most time raising their children."
Husbands' participation in raising children is essential for women with children to play an active role in society.
Miyazaki Prefecture has the longest such time in Japan.
Such results were shown in the "Social Life Basic Survey" conducted by the government once every five years.
Looking at the latest results announced last year, the average time spent on childcare by husbands of dual-income households with children is 30 minutes per day in Miyazaki Prefecture.
You may think, "That's all?", but the national average is 20 minutes, and Miyazaki Prefecture is 1.5 times that.
It is the longest among the 47 prefectures.
Why do husbands in Miyazaki spend so much time participating in child-rearing?
Professor Yumi Shikata of Miyazaki Public University, who specializes in gender issues, is focusing on the “advantageous circumstances” unique to rural areas.
First of all, my home and work are not far away, and my commute time is short.
According to the same survey, commuting time in Miyazaki Prefecture is about 28 minutes one way, which is the shortest in Japan, along with Yamagata Prefecture.
The other is that few people work late, and when looking at the "time to finish work and get home" that combines the two elements in the same survey, it is 5:57 pm in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Only 3 minutes behind the top Ehime Prefecture, it is the 4th fastest in Japan.
How to realize "husband's child-rearing participation"?
Mr. Junpei Haruta (29), a company employee who works as a married couple in Miyazaki City while raising a four-year-old daughter, devotes about three hours a day to child care, which is six times the prefectural average.
I was interviewed about the state of a certain weekday.
6 pm.
Mr. Haruta left the design company where he works in Miyazaki city on time and drove home in about 30 minutes in his own car.
The three of us ate dinner prepared by my wife, Haruka (28), who finished work first. can enter.
It's past 9pm.
She stayed with Nijika-chan until she fell asleep.
Mr. Haruta said, "It's natural to raise two children together, and I think that we can do half the housework and childcare, so that each other can afford to do it. Everyone around me gets home around 7 pm. I think Miyazaki is a place where you can relax and raise your children, compared to the city where many people are busy and it takes time to commute.”
My wife, Haruka, is currently working as a full-time office worker, but she has a dream of opening a cafe in the future, and I feel strongly about Haruta's involvement in raising children.
Haruka said, "I wanted to go to school to study how to open a store, so I asked my husband, 'I wonder if my child is still small.' It's easier to step into what you want to do," he said.
The fact that the company where Mr. Haruta works makes it a rule to leave work on time without overtime is also linked to the participation of male employees in raising children.
This company does not understand these efforts and does not accept orders from business partners who specify unreasonable delivery dates, realizing leaving work on time.
Senior Managing Director Saori Takehara said, "At first, all of our employees were single and working overtime was the norm, but eventually they started having families and starting to care for their families, and I thought, 'If we continue to work this way, there is no future for the company.' I always leave the office at 5:00 pm and try to create an atmosphere that says, 'This way of working is fine.'"
Expert “Learn from good examples and work toward equality nationwide”
Professor Mari Miura of Sophia University, who published the ``Prefectural Gender Gap Index'', commented on the results of the survey, ``Because we can visualize the gender disparity in each region, we can see that there are regions that are advanced and others that are behind. I want people to learn from good examples and promote initiatives for gender equality throughout Japan.”
Professor Miura analyzes that Tottori Prefecture, which ranked first in the administrative field, is the result of many years of efforts to appoint women to managerial positions.
On top of that, she said, ``In order to increase the number of women in managerial positions, it is necessary to reform work styles and the awareness of superiors. It is necessary to devise measures such as having them take childcare leave."
He also said, ``Political and administrative indicators are relatively easy to change if local government leaders set numerical targets or create ordinances. , It is important to check how it will change in five years."
In the world of "ease of working for women"?
Worst 2nd in Japan
However, looking at the rest of the world, we can see that Japan is lagging behind in developing an environment that is easy for women to work in.
The British economic magazine "The Economist" has announced a ranking of 29 major countries that evaluates the ease of working for women based on 10 indicators such as the wage gap between men and women and the difference in the labor force participation rate. It stayed second from last.
Japan ranks 28th out of 29 countries, falling below the average of OECD member countries in more than half of the indicators, including the lowest percentage of women in corporate management positions and members of the House of Representatives, which is equivalent to the lower house, out of 29 countries.
South Korea was at the bottom.
According to the economist, ``South Korea and Japan, where women still have to choose between family and career, are at the bottom.''
On the other hand, Iceland was said to be the most comfortable environment for women to work in, with a high percentage of women in key positions at companies.
In addition, Scandinavian countries such as Sweden ranked second and Finland ranked third.