Survey: Fewer than 10% of Japanese Managers Are Women
A new survey has found that the number of female managers at Japanese companies has risen to a record high — but is still less than 10%.
The survey, by research company Teikoku Databank, found that an average of 8.9% of managers at Japanese companies are women. Teikoku asked for information from over 24,000 companies, and almost 11,000 replied.
At some companies, more than 30% of managers are women. But at more than 45% of companies, there are no women managers at all. And almost 60% of companies said they did not expect their percentage of women managers to change.
However, the results show a 1.1% increase in women managers from the 2020 survey, which only found 7.8% of managers to be women. It is also the highest percentage since this data started to become available in 2013.
While the number of female managers is increasing, it still isn't as high as many people would like. In 2003, the Japanese government, under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, set a goal of 30% of leadership positions being occupied by women by the year 2020.
That goal has not been reached, and the government is now hoping that it will happen sometime during the next 10 years.
Teikoku Databank said that when asked, many smaller companies said that it can take a long time to prepare female employees for management jobs. Teikoku said that companies need strategies for getting women into these positions.
According to a 2021 report from business services company Grant Thornton, 31% of senior managers around the world are women, up from 19% in 2004.
