A Japanese government council approved on Tuesday a women's empowerment policy featuring the goal of raising the ratio of female board members to more than 30 percent by 2030 at companies listed on the top-tier Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The policy also lays out that the companies to appoint at least one female board member by 2025 as a starter. The move comes as companies in the country lag behind the United States and European countries in promoting women to managerial positions.
The policy will be included in the annual basic policies for economic and fiscal reform, scheduled to be approved by the Cabinet on Friday.
"The entire government will work together to realize a sustainable society, where diversity is respected and all people feel fulfilled," said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a meeting of the Council for Gender Equality.
In Japan, 18.7 percent of firms listed on the Prime Market had no female board members as of the end of July 2022, the Cabinet Office said, adding the proportion of the companies with over 30 percent of executive roles filled by women was only 2.2 percent.
Noting that investors at home and abroad are increasingly focusing on the gender ratio of company executives, the policy states that promoting women to executive posts is "an urgent issue" for Japan's economic growth.
The government will ask the bourse to set rules calling for firms to craft action plans to achieve the target on appointing women as executives.
The public and private sectors, for their part, will try to strengthen support for startup businesses to encourage the development of female entrepreneurs, with the government implementing necessary measures to improve women's income.
The government is also considering extending the obligation to disclose wage differences between men and women to companies with more than 100 employees. Currently, only companies with over 300 employees are subject to this requirement.
The government plans to strengthen childcare leave benefits and establish benefits for employees who work shorter hours to look after their children under two. It will also promote an environment in which men and women can share household chores and childcare and work flexibly.
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Japan seeks over 30% of female executives in key firms by 2030
Less than 1% of top-listed firms on Tokyo bourse led by women
