125th out of 146 countries!?
Japan is a leader in gender equality
The shock of being an extremely underdeveloped country

There is something called the gender gap index. Published by the World Economic Forum since 2006, it evaluates the current situation of each country in four areas: economy, politics, education, and health.
In 2023, Japan was ranked 125th out of 146 countries. This is the lowest rating ever, down 9 ranks from the previous year. It was originally ranked low, but this was shocking. In particular, it ranks 138th in the political field and 123rd in the economic field. Ranked 47th in education. However, the score and ranking dropped due to the inclusion of the male-female ratio of higher education enrollment rates, for which there was no data last time. Ranked 59th in the health category. In the medical field itself, there are still barriers for women to reach senior positions. The World Economic Forum also collects detailed data and evaluates this situation.Iceland has been in first place for 14 consecutive years. As you can see from the graph, Japan's ratings in four areas are almost triangular. Iceland, on the other hand, is rectangular. The differences in the political field are very large. why is it. I once asked the Icelandic ambassador to Japan, and he told me four reasons.
First, we have created strong laws and policies aimed at closing the gender gap. We have fostered a culture of gender equality through school education and other means. We have actively participated in international initiatives and made efforts to eliminate problems. And the last point is the most important point. The idea is to raise men's awareness and encourage their participation.
In Japan, when it comes to women's rights, men tend to think of it as someone else's problem. However, since this is an issue affecting society as a whole, it is only natural that men should be involved.
Many countries, including Iceland, are taking concrete steps to close the gender gap and improve their index rankings. The reason Japan's ranking is falling is because, despite the efforts of other countries, it is doing "almost nothing." If the situation surrounding the gender gap does not change, there is no doubt that the ranking will continue to decline.
In addition, a survey (graph) looking at the percentage of women in parliament in seven countries shows that in 1980, in most countries except Sweden, the percentage was less than 10%, but now the percentage has increased significantly in all of them. However, Japan's rate has only reached 10% from 2.2% in 1980. The average for 193 countries around the world is 26.6%, and Japan ranks 164th among them.
Japan has set a goal of increasing the number of women in parliament to 30% over the next 10 years, but this is only a goal, not a requirement. However, many countries have enacted laws to increase the number of women in parliament.
For example, France enacted the "Parite Law" in 2000. Parity means equality and equality, and it requires each party to have an equal number of male and female candidates in almost all national and local elections. There are penalties for violation. The 2013 reform created a system for male and female candidates to run in pairs in local assembly elections, where the number of female members had been slow to increase. Voters also vote for pairs. It is recommended that pairs be from different political parties or factions. These policies have led to a dramatic increase in the number of women in France's parliament.
In the UK, there is a system called designated constituencies for women. The idea is to limit the number of candidates to women in constituencies where there is a high probability that the next candidate will be elected due to reasons such as an incumbent member announcing his or her retirement. Also, since men tend to be the leaders of neighborhood associations, it is mandatory for a woman to be present. This is because, just as with national issues, women's perspectives are essential when considering issues in the regions where we live.
In the economic field, the number of female Officer at listed companies in Japan increased 5.8 times in the 10 years up to 2022. However, it is only 9.1%. France has 45.2% and Italy 42.6%. Furthermore, although the ratio of men to women in the total number of workers is almost even, only 19% of IT engineers are women. Wage disparity cannot be overlooked either. Even for the same work as men, women are paid less. Looking at international comparisons, if the full-time wage for men is set as 100, the average value is 88.1.There are many countries where the wage exceeds 90. But Japan is 77.9. The low pay for care work, which is dominated by women, should also be viewed as an issue. Japanese women who do not receive sufficient compensation for their work tend to face poverty after retirement, divorce, or bereavement.
In fact, for companies, having women playing an active role in their companies has great management benefits. Half of consumers are women, so products developed from a female perspective will likely lead to increased profits. Investors also consider the proportion of female Officer and diversity initiatives to be important guidelines. Companies that proactively address these social issues are more likely to attract investment. Nowadays, all the major companies that have understood this are taking various initiatives. In the future, it will be necessary to expand this to medium-sized companies as well.
 
There are many countries in the world that have laws and systems for gender equality. The Gender Equality Committee has been established within the Diet to review laws. This is because all countries have historically had gender-based attitudes such as ``women cannot be in politics or management'' and ``women should not lead men.'' If we leave it to nature, people's consciousness will not change. We have worked to eliminate the gender gap by creating solid systems. Even in Islamic countries such as Morocco, Egypt, and Indonesia, where the status of women is perceived to be low, there is a rule that women make up at least 30% of parliamentarians. Japan is now completely behind the times.