To coincide with today’s International Women’s Day (IWD) a new survey reveals that far fewer men than women believe that female employees face any gender-based inequality at work in Japan.
The survey conducted in 30 countries by recruiting experts Hays generated 435 responses from men and women in Japan who were asked about gender equality in their workplace.
It found that 33 per cent of men compared to 50 per cent of women think that equally capable male and female colleagues are not paid or rewarded in an equal manner.
The survey also found that 40 per cent of men compared to 53 per cent of women do not believe that the same career opportunities are available to all, regardless of gender.
93 per cent of all respondents in Japan, both men and women, said the most senior person within their organisation is male and 86 per cent said that their line manager is also male.
Another finding is that respondents said the top 3 most effective measures in terms of education across the organization to change workplace culture (26 per cent), highlighting female role models (24 per cent) and flexible working practices (22 per cent).
“We have a lot to celebrate here in Japan on International Women’s Day, but many Japanese would argue that progress towards workplace gender equality is hindered by the lack of people, more often than not men, who fail to see any problem,” says Christine Wright, Managing Director of Hays in Japan.
“Given that most people in senior leadership roles are still men, it’s difficult to see how gender parity can be accelerated when many of those in positions of influence do not see any inequality to begin with.
“It’s also important that employers embrace the reality that such disparities may exist among their employees.
“One of the best practical measures to alleviate such imbalance in the workplace is to put performance-related policies in place. This ensures that people make their progression based on their performance alone. It also helps build a culture of meritocracy and helps to remove unconscious bias from the decision making process.”
The 2016 IWD theme is ‘pledging for parity’. This year IWD calls for everyone, both men and women, “to pledge to take a concrete step to help achieve gender parity more quickly”.
What steps can we take? According to Hays employers should encourage female ambition, focus on employee self-promotion and implement and communicate gender diversity policies.
“Businesses need to make sure they have clear initiatives and development plans in place to retain and promote their top female talent. Employers also need to recognise the benefits of a gender diverse workforce, including a stronger talent pipeline, higher productivity and ultimately a more successful business. Clearly, addressing gender equality needs to be more than just a box-ticking exercise” said Alistair Cox, CEO of Hays plc.
A full Japan report with global comparisons will be available in May this year at
www.hays.co.jp.
Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.
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For further information please contact Yuki Noro, Public Relations of Hays in Japan on +81 (0) 3 3560 1529 or
[email protected]
About Hays
Hays is the leading global specialist recruiting group. It is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide.
Hays Specialist Recruitment Japan KK ("Hays") is the largest foreign recruitment company in Japan and operates across the private sector, providing services for permanent recruitment, contract and temporary roles, RPO (Hays Talent Solutions) and IT Solutions. Hays operates four local offices, serving the Kanto region from 2 offices in Tokyo, Yokohama, and West Japan from central Osaka.
Hays is the only foreign recruitment company in Japan to operate specialist business units composed of professionals with experience and expertise in the sectors they cover. Hays Japan’s thirteen specialisms span Accountancy & Finance, Banking, Finance Technology, Human Resources, Information Technology, Insurance, Legal, Life Sciences, Office Professionals, Property, Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain and Manufacturing & Operations.
Hays Japan is the local representative office for Hays plc (the "Group"), a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments.
As at 31 December 2015 the Group employed 9,420 staff operating from 248 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2015:
– the Group reported net fees of £764.2 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £164.1 million;
– the Group placed around 63,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 200,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 23% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 41% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 36% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;
– the temporary placement business represented 58% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 42% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA