Gender Equality Goal In Leadership To Be Revised
NHK has learned that the Japanese government plans to set a new goal to have women take on more leadership positions in the workplace after it failed to achieve an initial target set for this year.
The government had aimed to increase the proportion of female leaders to around 30 percent by 2020. But there are still only a small number of women in management positions in corporations and the government.
The government therefore decided to postpone the target year from 2020 to "as early as possible in the 2020s."
It also plans to set a new goal of having equal proportions of men and women in leadership positions in the 2030s.
It says it aims to achieve a society in which people can work without being conscious of gender.
The new goal will be spelled out in a five-year gender equality plan to start in fiscal 2021.
Hashimoto Seiko, the minister in charge of women's empowerment and gender equality, noted that women have not been promoted despite years of plans and policies.
She said the ratio of women in politics in Japan is very low compared to other countries and stressed the need to motivate women to participate.
She suggested that the government consider introducing a female quota system for lawmakers.
