Japan wants 30% female executives in big companies by 2030

UPDATE DAY

The Japanese Prime Minister on Thursday asked his government to put in place a work plan to increase the share of women executives in large companies to at least 30% by 2030.  

“We want the proportion of women among executives to be 30% or more by 2030 in companies listed on the main market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange,” said Fumio Kishida at a meeting on gender equality.

According to a cabinet survey, women accounted for 11.4% of executives at major listed companies in Japan in 2022.

Ensuring diversity will drive innovation and the economy, argued Mr. Kishida.

Japan is plagued by strong gender inequalities, especially in politics and in corporate leadership positions. The pay gap between men and women is also very large.

Japanese women have access to high levels of education and are well represented in the labor force, but the country still ranks poorly in the World Economic Forum report on gender inequality in the world.

In 2022, Japan was ranked 116th out of 146.