National Women’s Education Center of Japan

On Friday, December 7th, 2018, the National Women’s Education Center of Japan hosted the FY2018 NWEC Global Seminar under the theme of“Promotion of the Advancement of Women – What Japan can learn from Iceland about Gender Equality?”at Shufu Kaikan Plaza f (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), where active discussions among over 100 participants from home and abroad took place.

The keynote speaker for Part I, Ms. Brynhildur Heiðar-og Ómarsdóttir, the Managing Director of the Icelandic Women’s Rights Association (IWRA), gave a comprehensively detailed report entitled “Creating a Gender Equal Future, Together! - Lessons from Iceland.” Ms. Brynhildur has been an advocate for gender equality monitoring legislation and government policies dealing with gender equality. IWRA is the oldest civic group established in 1907 to fight for women's suffrage, and has come a long way to reduce the gender gap. Today, IWRA is involved in a wide range of activities, from working in close cooperation with women participating actively in political parties to editing educational materials about gender equality used in high schools. Starting with the history of IWRA and a report on the activities the association has engaged in, Ms. Brynhildur gave a detailed presentation on various movements in Iceland that are about to achieve gender equality.

Regarding specific political movements such as gender equality action plans, parental leave, the equal pay standard that made it possible to build an equal society, she gave a clear conclusion that social change doesn’t come from legislative changes, but from political action. She then emphasized that without women organizing and demonstrating and running for office, nothing would change. She said that it is up to us, the voters, to demand changes and equality, since men in power don’t easily share power.

Referring to education, women's labor, and further correction of gender pay gap as future issues, she emphasized that equality is achieved only through efforts, and that there would be no advance without grass-root organizing. She delivered a strong message that the future of gender equality will be built through feminist education. She said that the strong women's movement worked as a major factor for making Iceland a more gender-equal county, and stated that it is only through education that we can change the world. The participants were deeply moved by this conclusion.

The Part II panel discussion, under the main theme of “Dialogue with Ms. Brynhildur – Striving Toward Gender Equality,” was an enthusiastic report and debate. The current state and the history of Iceland are highly suggestive to Japanese society, and especially, the following three themes were highlighted as issues to be addressed – gender equality in labor, women’s participation in decision-making, and gender equality for men. Three experts offered in-depth commentaries on specific situations and challenges.

Mr. Tomohiro Takami, Researcher, Department of Labour and Economy, the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, addressed the issue of gender equality in employed labor based on detailed data in the presentation entitled “For the Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in Employed Labor – Issues Japan Should Address.” The main problem is the low ratio of women in managerial position. Laws and regulations are being prepared for gender quality, such as the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace (enacted in 2015), but Japan still has a long way to go. The ratio of women in managerial position is still low by international standards, and the gender difference in job experience in companies is quite large. Especially, it is clearly shown that less women experience corporate core duties and positions that lead to managerial positions. Then, why are there few female executives in Japanese companies? Reasons include a lack of women who have required knowledge and experience; women themselves do not wish to be in a managerial position; women do not meet the tenure required for a managerial position. Mr. Takami pointed out that work style reform with men involved is necessary in order to change the situation, and that women’s participation and advancement may progress in companies with no overtime work, shedding light on the direction for problem resolution.

Regarding the second theme, “Issues Surrounding Women’s Participation in Decision-Making and Policies,” Ms. Kimiko Kubo, Managing Director of ICHIKAWA Fusae Center for Women and Governance, reported on the present situation of Japanese women’s participation in politics based on detailed data. In her presentation, she showed that the percentage of female Diet members is 10% which ranks the 162nd in the world, and that the majority of the local assemblies have only one or two female members, analyzing factors that impede women’s participation in politics. As a conclusion, she suggested the following five actions to encourage women’s participation in politics: (1) Raise political awareness (political education, sovereign education); (2) Experience (training); (3) Role models; (4) Use local women’s centers as a hub; and (5) Use the “promotion law” as a tool. At the end, she emphasized the need to let young women exercise leadership, let them play roles on an equal footing with elderly people to gain momentum, and open up a doorway to organizations to encourage active participation. A proposal made by Ms. Kubo who has been working on women’s participation in politics and promoting it strongly over many years, and her perspective on young women in particular, was highly suggestive.

Prof. Kimio Ito, Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University, started his presentation “Gender Equality for Men and Boys in Japan” by pointing out the fact facing Japanese society that in 1970, Japan boasted the second highest female labor participation rate among the OECD countries, but, in 2000, Japan was overtaken by many countries and grew stagnant. He then analyzed the overall picture of the gender structure established at that time. He pointed out problems stemming from the fact that women’s potential abilities were not fully utilized while men were inflated – such as men’s long working hours; fixing of male-dominated labor practices; men being unable to achieve a happy feeling; women bearing a greater burden of domestic duties and childcare; escalation of women’s non-regular labor under poor working conditions. He also emphasized the need for gender equality policies for men while it is needed to further enhance the policies for women’s empowerment. Issues involved in gender policies for men include raising men’s awareness about gender equality; analyzing men’s problems; non-violence training for male perpetrators of sexual violence. On the other hand, men who are becoming aware of the contradictions underlying in the men-driven society are now addressing (1) Single father problems; (2) Fathering Japan campaign; and (3) Formation of White Ribbon Campaign Japan. Prof. Ito provided an update where a new big wave is about to arise and change the existing state of affairs.

During the later discussion, a question raised by a Part II presenter about how Iceland corrected a pay gap was answered that it was achieved by tenacious labor-management negotiations and labor campaign, triggering more concrete discussions. A number of questions followed one after another from the floor, resulting in active discussions. Through the keynote address and discussions, the participants gained clear understanding about the patient efforts Iceland has made to achieve gender equality and the equal pay standard. Seminar made clear what is needed for Japan and what Japan should do for the future.