Only 0.8% of Japan’s top firms are led by women: survey

A new survey by Kyodo News has revealed a stark gender disparity in Japan’s corporate leadership, with only 13 female CEOs leading the country’s top 1,600 listed companies. This translates to a mere 0.8% of firms on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market being led by women.

Limited opportunities: The survey, based on fiscal 2023 financial statements, attributes the gender discrepancy in top executive positions to companies’ preference for external hires over internal promotions. This practice, as noted by Ryusuke Ishii from the Japan Research Institute, could limit opportunities for women who may have steadily climbed the ranks within their companies.While the ratio is improving in Japan, it still lags behind rates of 30% to 40% in Europe and North America.
Silver lining: The Japanese government’s ambitious goal of having 30% female executives by 2030 is driving some progress. While currently only 122 companies meet this target and a worrying 68 firms have no female representation in top-level management, last year’s increase in female board members to over 3,000 since 2019 indicates positive movement.

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