Re: Kuwaiti women vote for first time ever
The New Lifestyles of Japanese Women
Sumiko Iwao, Ph.D.
(This is the transcript of a speech delivered in Lima, Peru in September 1996.)
[...]
Career women encounter the glass ceiling
Japan has long succeeded in maintaining a relatively high growth rate by relying on an abundant supply of highly skilled workers. Large companies established a system of employment in which responsibility and power were mainly invested in men in the prime of their working lives.
Now it is painfully obvious to all that young, male workers will be in short supply over the medium to long term. Japanese companies will, however grudgingly, have no choice but to rely more on women in all parts of their operations on the factory floor as well as in the office.
More and more manufacturers, for example, are taking steps to make it possible for women to do blue-collar jobs which were once reserved only for men. To open factory doors to women, some manufacturers have eased the physical requirements by partially automating their operations.
Table 2 (Female Employees by Profession)
Initially, companies segregated male and female employees, setting up separate assembly lines for each sex. It was thought that having women nearby would distract the men and risked increasing accidents and lowering productivity. It has been found, however, that in most cases allowing women to work alongside men on the factory floor has improved men's morale and contributed to higher productivity.
Since the 1960s, Japan's female labor force population has continued to increase each year. When broken down by age, the female participation rate represents an "M" shaped curve. A low percentage of women between the ages of 30 and 34 are working because they leave the labor market temporarily for marriage and childbirth. This represents the dip in the "M." These same women return to work when they have completed childraising.
Figure2 (Labor Force Participation Rates for Women)
The Equal Employment Opportunity Law, upholding the need to improve the welfare of women workers, as well as guaranteeing equal opportunity and treatment of men and women in employment, was enacted in 1986. Since the EEOL came out effect, the number of working women has increased by 5 million. Today, 39% of employed workers are women, and 50% of women in their 40s work.
At the same time that participation by women in the workforce grew, career opportunities for women widened. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of women lawyers and the number of women serving on government councils where national policies are debated.
It had been the tradition in Japanese companies to assign women to a special secretarial career track and to deny them access to managerial positions. Recently, however, women have been given access to both the secretarial career track and the management track, and as a result, the number of women pursuing managerial jobs has grown substantially. However, a significant number of women have been given management training by their company only to resign to attend to family concerns. This has caused some large companies to rethink their dual career track policy for women.
Figure3 (Share of Women in Managerial Positions)
There has been virtually no increase in the number of women in senior executive ranks at any of the major corporations. The Ministry of Labor sought to find out why so few women occupy the nation's executive suites. They conducted a survey and found that 48% of business leaders felt that women do not have the necessary knowledge, experience, or judgment to serve as a senior executive. The second most popular response, chosen by 35% of respondents, was that women don't stay with the company long enough to justify a senior executive position.
Table 3 (Reasons Why There Are Few or No Women Managers)
According to a Japan Federation of Economic Organizations survey, male personnel managers tend to blame women themselves and the social environment in Japan rather than company policy to explain the lack of female senior executives. Common reasons cited in the survey were "possibilities of giving birth," "lack of professionalism on the part of women" and "insufficient public child care facilities."
What women want fixed is the office environment
Other surveys have revealed a change in the mood and spirit of the Japanese worker. In a study conducted by the Ministry of Labor it was disclosed that 38% of young men and 36% of young women are not particularly interested in promotion as long as they can work in a job where they can apply their skills and abilities. Only 11% indicated they wanted to get ahead by exerting effort. These results come as a big surprise to me. Young Japanese workers are certainly quite a different breed from their workaholic fathers. My guess is that young people have probably found meaningful ways to spend time outside of workÑsomething that the older generation was unable to do.
Since the bubble burst on Japan's economy, it has been more difficult for young job hunters to find jobs, and women have been worse off than men. Only 73% of women in the class of '94 found jobs while 82% of men did. It used to be that women would quit when they got married, but that custom is dying out. As women stay longer in the workforce fewer jobs are available for recent college graduates.
Many companies in Japan still hire only men or only women for certain jobs. There are lots of justifications for these practices. As to why companies will allow only men to perform certain jobs, the most popular reason cited was that the positions in question had late night shifts for which women were prohibited. As to why only women were allowed to apply for certain jobs, 47% of the respondents said "the job is supportive or seasonal" therefore only women would be appropriate; 39% said "women can respond more gently to our customers" or "the job better utilizes a women's abilities and/or feelings."
I expect that the labor regulations which prohibit women from working night shifts will be lifted in the next revision of EEOL, but I doubt that the practice of hiring by sex will change.
The current EEOL has been hamstrung by its lack of enforcement power. To give it teeth, a proposal is afloat to clearly state punishment for violations of EEOL regulations. Discussions are underway between the affected parties and a revised law is expected to be presented before the Diet by the end of the year.
In these first ten years of EEOL, the number of men and women who support the opinion that women should work while raising children has increased. This seems to reflect the understanding that salaries will not rise dramatically over time, and a desire to maintain the luxurious life that a double income affords.
Unfortunately, Japanese men do not yet understand the concerns, attitudes, and hopes of the women they work with. Although management believes it is adequately addressing the concerns of the women workforce, women are less than satisfied with the efforts so far. To illustrate this point, let me cite some facts from the survey conducted by the Japan Institute of Worker's Evolution.
The survey asked management to indicate how they are developing the talents of their female employees by choosing from a list of possible answers. The same list was then given to women employees of these companies. The women were asked to rank the items on the list in terms of things they thought needed to be improved in the workplace.
On the management side, 64% of the companies said they are really focusing on "carefully outlining job responsibilities and giving appropriate supervision when mistakes are found." This was the number one response for the management group. Ironically, the women's group chose the same response as the area that they thought needed the most improvement in their companies. That is women, 48% of them, felt that the companies were doing a lousy job of "outlining job responsibilities and giving appropriate supervision when mistakes are found."
The second item on the managers list was "give women responsible jobs," 54% of the company managers chose that response, 24% of women chose the same item. This points out the great diversification of interests and motivations of Japanese women. A growing number of women in the country have career aspirations of the highest order, but others are quite content with support roles. Although it is difficult to discuss Japanese women as one group, it is clear that the majority of working women are happy with jobs that have little or no responsibility.
The third most popular objective for management, chosen by 53% of the companies in the survey, was "listen to women's opinions regarding the workplace and take action to implement their ideas." This item ranked sixth on the women's list and was mentioned by 37% of the respondents.
A look at the women's list reveals that working women in Japan are not particularly concerned with opportunities for advancement and a role in decision making. They are much more concerned about being treated with respect and dignity. Number two on the women's list was the response: "stop requiring women to perform menial private tasks for male managers." This item was selected by 43% of the women.
In third place on the women's list was "improve the attitudes of management and male colleagues." 42% of women chose that item while only 28% of the companies listed it as being important.
The women respondents also indicated a need for better employee support systems to help balance child care and work responsibilities. 42% of women chose this item and 36% of the companies indicated it was one of their priorities.
Clearly the findings show that what women want fixed is the office environment not the impediments to the managerial ranks. As further evidence of this, the women employee group also cited office remarks regarding "appearance, age, marital status, and pregnancy" as things they wanted changed. They also demanded that they not be forced to pour beer for their male colleagues at after-work parties. 32% of the women demanded that they be treated without special leniency. Male managers aren't getting the message but women simply want to be respected as equal members of the work team.
How Japanese men look upon women
Why are these managers having such a hard time figuring out what their women employees want? One of the reasons I think derives from problems in communication. First of all, there is a general tendency for Japanese not to express their views clearly and verbally. Indirect expression and guessing is often the rule. This works well as long as social or generational changes are limited. A rapidly changing environment, on the other hand, requires concise, clear expression.
Making things worse is the tendency for men and women to create separate worlds. Unlike in other countries where couples form friendships, in Japan men hang out with men and women hang out with women with little cross-group communication. Top executives very likely only know women as their wives or those who wait upon them including women staff members. Women as equal work partners is a concept beyond their familiar world.
A Japan Labor Institute survey of men conducted in 1991 revealed that the most common view of women colleagues is as "considerate supporters." The same survey showed that only 26% of men regard women as "able partners." An amazing 15% said they have no particular impression of women whatsoever.
Most senior executives have never had a woman colleague confront them as a man might do to express differing professional views. If challenged by a woman, the senior executive would probably not give in easily and he might, unfortunately, mistake such behavior as a personal attack or a sign of disrespect. These same executives when trying to say something nice to a woman employee will likely comment about her appearance, praising her nice smile or her attractive dress.
Such comments are probably not meant as harassment, they are just awkward exchanges between the sexes. Because most Japanese women are well aware that men are ill-equipped to communicate effectively with women, they usually pass off the remarks. I think a candid exchange of a opinions is necessary to make male managers understand that the majority of women do not enjoy this kind of office environment. Men need to be sensitized to the feelings of their women colleagues. Management ought to provide the forum to allow women to express their views and, if the managers listen to what is being said and effect change, surely the women employees, the men managers, and the company as a whole would stand to benefit.
Women have yet to rectify all that is wrong with the workplace, but in the ten years since EEOL was enacted, they have made advancements that in many ways makes us now pity the male worker. With two career tracks available to them, a secretarial track and the regular management track, women have a very broad range of options. Those women who are quite satisfied with making copies and supporting male colleagues can find just such a career path. Those who are highly motivated and hell-bent on the corporate stratosphere, like some of my former students, can also find just such a career path. Whether they'll make it to senior executive or not remains to be seen. But for sure women have a diversity of careers available to them which perhaps makes some younger men envious.
The last ten years have brought about changes for men as well, but I feel these changes are confined to a much narrower band than women and generational differences seem to explain who have and who have not changed. Men in older age groups have full time housewives and have not had women as classmates in their college days. For them, women and children form a single group in need of a man's protection. These men have not bothered to inquire what today's modern women are thinking and wishing for.
[...]
mofa.go.jp |
