In a survey of gender equality around the world, Japan ranked 116th out of 146 countries surveyed, citing still large disparities in political participation and economics.
This "Survey on Gender Gap" is conducted annually by the World Economic Forum, the organizer of the Davos Conference, which brings together leaders from the political and business world: "political participation," "economy," "education," and "access to health care." In the field, we are investigating the disparity between men and women in each country.
A report on the latest situation was released on the 13th, and Iceland ranked first among the 146 countries surveyed as having achieved the most gender equality for the 13th consecutive year. did.
Finland was second, followed by Norway, and as usual, Scandinavian countries ranked high.
On the other hand, although Japan was highly evaluated in "education" and "access to medical care", it was extremely low in the fields of "political participation" and "economy", ranking 116th.
It has been pointed out that in Japan, the percentage of women in the House of Representatives and ministers is low, and the percentage of women in charge of decision-making in companies such as managers is still low.
In addition, according to the report, while childcare facilities and schools were closed due to the influence of the new coronavirus, women paid most of the childcare and the unemployment rate of women remained high, which contributed to gender equality. It points out that it is hindering.
The World Economic Forum says it will still take 132 years to achieve gender equality globally and is calling on countries to step up their efforts.
Expert "Important for securing human resources"
"The board of directors represents employees. Gender equality in an organization is a value that younger generations value when choosing a career, and directors are diverse," said Sharon Thorne, chairman of consulting giant Deloitte. Organizations deemed to be non-existent will not be selected as new hires in the future, "he said, pointing out that increasing the promotion of women to directors is also important for securing human resources.
“The more diverse management is, the smarter decisions can be made and contribute to the interests of the organization. It also promotes innovation, enables more effective risk management and better collaboration with customers and employees. "Become" emphasizes that it has great benefits for corporate management.
Movement to increase female directors in Europe and the United States
In June, the EU-European Union, whose goal is "gender equality," generally agreed to oblige listed companies in the region to appoint women to a certain percentage of directors.
Companies that fail to meet the standards are required to report the reasons and measures, and if they cannot be fully explained, they may be subject to penalties.
Also in April, the UK Financial Conduct Authority announced new rules requiring listed companies to have at least 40% of their directors women.
According to the agency's report, 34.3% of the directors of the 350 major companies listed on the London Stock Exchange are women, with the aim of further increasing the ratio.
In December, the U.S. stock exchange Nasdaq will appoint at least two directors, one for all 3,000 listed companies and one for blacks, hispanics, and racial and sexual minorities. We are announcing the mandatory policy.