JAPAN’S STRUGGLE WITH GENDER PARITY

CONTEXT

According to recent data, Japan recorded the lowest total births in 2021 at just about 8,10,000. Japan also ranked lowest among the developed  countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index 2022

With a target of transforming India into a developed country by 2047, there are some lessons to learn from Japan.

DEVELOPED, YET A  LOW RANK

• Japan ranked abysmally low out of 146 countries at 116 in Gender Gap Index 2022. This makes Japan the worst performer in the G7 group, where most of the countries ranked between 10 and 27, barring Italy at 63.
• Japan has a perfect score on gender equality in educational attainment. 15-year-old Japanese girls (and boys) score higher than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average in scientific and mathematical literacy and reading performance.
• Health and survival of women including healthy life expectancy also stand near a perfect score of 0.97 Japan’s overall low rank in the Gender Gap Index stems from the low presence of women in leadership and politics.
• It ranks below 130 when it comes to women in Parliament and women as senior officials and managers.
• Women hold a mere 10 %of japan’s parliamentary seats( as of April 2022) as compared to around 30% or more in the G7 countries. Japan has not had a female head of the state in the past 50 years.
• Evidence from Japan suggests that high per capita income does not guarantee gender equality as later is usually rooted in social and cultural norms.
• Women are perceived unsuitable to be leaders which reflect in their low numbers as company heads (8%). Japan has less than 5% of women in middle management and senior management in the central government. Japanese women earn about 57% that of men, making this wage gap one of the worst among OECD countries.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF GENDER DISPARITY

• This led to the sharp decline in marriage rates and fertility in Japan which is among the worst in rich countries. Marriage rates in Japan have fallen by 50% since 1970 and fertility has fallen to 1.3 children per woman (2021).
• The high opportunity cost of caregiving and motherhood has made Japanese women perceive marriage and childbearing as a burden. This has created double trouble for the long-stagnant Japanese economy.
• Low marriage rates have led to a fall in consumption and investment as singles consume and invest less than households. For example, singles tend to rely more on rental housing rather than owning a house.
• A low birth rate implies a steady decline in the future workforce and a rising pension burden of an aging population on the fiscal account.
• The big wage gap in male-female income suppresses domestic demand as half of its population relies on how wages and temporary jobs.

WOMENOMICS

• To revive the stagnant Japanese economy, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe emphasized womenomics as one of his key policy measures .it aimed at boosting female labor participation and increasing the percentage of women in leadership positions to 30% by 2020. This goal however not achieved and even Abe's cabinet struggled to meet the target. The deadline was revised to 2030.
• Last month, Japan’s land ministry hired an all-male lecturer staff to deliver a course on community development to public servants and added 15 women only after strong public backlash.
• Japan’s struggle with gender parity teaches us that investing in women’s education and health may have a limited impact if that society is trapped in gender norms that restrict women from capitalizing on these investments for themselves, society, and the country.