'Womenomics' makes small chips in Japan's glass ceiling

Womenomics' makes small chips in Japan's glass ceiling

Here's to hoping that they toss a boulder through the glass!

talk,,talk talk, urges urges urges, endeavors, endeavors, endeavors. So laughable. Nothing is ever done.

The central government exceeded its 30% target for hiring of women for career-track positions, raising the rate to 34% this year from 24% last year, according to the latest Cabinet Office data

In an alternative universe, the person making the biggest noises about Womenomics (at the UN and elsewhere) reduced their representation in his cabinet from 5 to 4 and now 3.

Business as usual.

Abe just loves to slap labels on his cra..em smap.

Beautiful Country 3 arrows Abenomics Womenomics

Here's a label: HOT AIR

Women represent only 11% of all managers and supervisors

Women represent slightly less than 11% of PM Abe's own cabinet of 19 members, of which two are women. Time again for Abe to practice what he preaches.

all i know is the job market in tokyo is super hot right now. with the old geezers dying off and a smaller number of brain dead college graduates who live in a liquid crystal display trance all day long, it will only get tighter...

See, the way it works is you begin your career as a brain dead college graduate who lives in a liquid crystal display trance all day long and then retire as an old geezer and die off. where do women (or foreigners for that matter) fit in this grand scheme?

Women represent slightly less than 11% of PM Abe's own cabinet of 19 members, of which two are women. Time again for Abe to practice what he preaches.

That's not all. according to his wife's wikipedia page,

Following her husband's first stint as prime minister, she opened an organic izakaya in the Kanda district of Tokyo, but is not active in management due to the urging of her mother-in-law

There you have it. All talk.

Too much bureaucratic and unnecessary paper work, meetings, rules and regulations in any typical Japanese firm. Lots of unproductive time spent and wasted. With such long hours and work culture, it is almost impossible for women executives to have sufficient time for family and work balance.

This is another aspect of unique Japanese work culture; long hours for long hours sake for executives. Which most men are proud of. Unless this kind of work culture is discarded, it will be almost an impossibility to get more talented mothers to work as executives.

Many modern cities women executives are able to achieve some family & work balance. Just look at the women executives in Singapore, Hong Kong, London and New York.

Many modern cities women executives are able to achieve some family & work balance. Just look at the women executives in Singapore, Hong Kong, London and New York.

So true. Why can't the Japanese get it right? This old fashioned mentality, where women belong in places like the kitchen is total nonsense.

Are you kidding? I sincerely doubt there are many working mothers who are happy with the way their work and home lives are currently 'balanced'. Certainly not in my experience working in London.

The only real reason Abe is pushing for women to have opportunitites to join the work force is because then the gov. of Japan can slowly start to take away benefits from 2 parent family household with both parents working.

More women in the workforce is just a way to try to squeeze more tax out of the working poor. More women working doesn't mean that they will suddenly start recieving the same salaries and bonus as men who do less work than them.

It's a ruse.

Women with children who don't have a family member to look after the kids while they are working will inevitably spend most of their income on day care, the other large part goes to taxes.

Once again average hard working J-citizen, you lose. And you let these madmen into office.

In short, "With the aging and declining population and China overtaking us, we desperately need Japanese people to work more and harder and maybe women can contribute to the backbreaking drudgery we LDP top dogs and our corporate feudal cronies want all your lives to be as we recapitulate the Glory Days of the Honorable Death of the One Hundred Million."

Abe recently vowed to ensure that “zero” workers will have to quit their jobs to care for elders, but it’s unclear how that goal would be achieved.

Also, SERIOUSLY, can Uniqlo put out a limited run t-shirt line with Abe's best quotes??? This one is priceless!!!

Many modern cities women executives are able to achieve some family & work balance. Just look at the women executives in Singapore, Hong Kong, London and New York.

What?

There are very few places in this world where "executives" are able to enjoy real work-life balance. If you want to enter that level of responsibility in a Fortune 500 company, it's 60 hour weeks - minimum. There is no "balance" for executives in HK, London, or New York. Absolutely zero at all. I don't have as much business experience in Singapore but I can't imagine the corporate culture over there being vastly different from the rest of the developed world.

"married Japanese men spend only about an hour a day on chores and childrearing," really? How's that even possible if many (most?) husbands leave for work early in the morning and come home late, after a long commute, many even close to the midnight? An hour of chores isn't a small amount, and plenty of work can be done in an hour. I wish I had a partner who could do that, but with such work hours and commute, it's physically impossible. From what I hear, most married men can participate in childrearing and share chores once a week only.

"What should change is the way men work." is absolutely correct, and essential if Japan is to address the demographic armegeddon it's facing... but getting anyone in power to acknowledge this seems unlikely. It might actually result in improved work-life balance for men and equality for women - is Japan ready for that kind of change?

yawn, same ole same ole eh!

If I have said it one I have said it a MILLION times on JT, Japan is in DIRE need of a TOTAL Re-Invent of work-life balance if its ever to have a hope in hell of turning things around, which basically means Japan DOESNT have a hope in hell!

Oh and look at how the old folks are doing, again like I have said a MILLION times before, DO YOU wanna grow old in Japan, I sure as hell don't!

How's that even possible if many (most?) husbands leave for work early in the morning and come home late, after a long commute, many even close to the midnight?

They do without a night's sleep and instead view sleep as a "hobby," or else get what little sleep they're allowed on the train or in their cars in a convenience store parking lot, or at their desk in their offices since they're unable to leave until everyone else leaves.

It seems that what Abe wants go against the japanese society want. So, how can Abe believe that he have the right to go against the people will?