Women Shut Out Of Japan Election At Cost Of $550 Billion

Many Japan observers following the race for prime minister can’t help but despair over who’s not running: women.

Not a one, eight years after outgoing leader Shinzo Abe promised to use the highest political office in the land to make women “shine.” Little did we know that his “womenomics” plan was a shiny object all its own to buttress his bone fides as a reformer.

There were lots of hints Abe’s gender empowerment push was just a talking point well before the Liberal Democratic Party elects a new leader on Monday. One: a dearth of women in Abe’s Cabinet’s since 2012 (the current one has two female ministers out of 20).

Equally telling is the tokenism at play. None of the really plumb in-the-spotlight gigs go to women. The foreign affairs, finance and chief cabinet secretary portfolios have eluded female lawmakers with every cabinet shakeup on Abe’s watch. And frankly, can anyone make a case that Abe’s male-dominated economic or diplomatic teams have distinguished themselves to argue merit or talent kept key jobs from going to women? 

In reality, the force with Japan’s patriarchy remains plenty strong eight years after Abe began using his womenomics talking points.

Don’t take my word for it, take the World Economic Forum’s. During the Abe era, Tokyo fell spots on WEF’s annual gender-gap report – from 101st in 2012 to 121st now. Japan trails the United Arab Emirates, Benin and Timor-Leste. It’s not an orbit, frankly, any Group of Seven nation should be anywhere near in 2020. Japan now even trails South Korea, which as recently as 2018 was five rungs below Abe’s economy.

Even good news for women these last eight years can often be bad. Abe’s one claim of success, perhaps, is that Japan’s labor participation rate is moving in the right direction—to a record 71%. Fine, but women also account for at least two-thirds of “nonregular” jobs. These gigs offer lower pay, fewer benefits and less security. And, not surprisingly, these jobs have been the first cut as Covid-19 slams Japan’s economy.

Abe’s failing gender grade is really a microcosm of why Abenomics fizzled. Yet it’s also such a senselessly squandered opportunity as a moment when Japan needs all the growth drivers it can harness. And, of course, when its shrinking labor force requires millions of reinforcements.

All available research from the International Monetary Fund, Organization for Economic Cooperation Development and others says the same thing: nations that best cultivate and utilize female talent are the most productive, innovative and prosperous.

Of managerial positions in Japan, only about 4% are held by women. Now, that marks a big improvement over 1% in 2012, but compare it to China’s 9%. Ditto for Japan trailing Saudi Arabia by 59 rungs in the number of women in politics.

WEF highlights estimates that greater gender equality would add $550 billion to Japan’s annual gross domestic product. That’s more than 10% of GDP. Estimates from banks including Goldman Sachs put the GDP bump closer to 15%.

Abe could’ve made incredible strides since 2012. His government started out a goal of 30% of all supervisory positions in all fields going to women by this year. In June, Team Abe effectively admitted defeat, delaying the target until 2030. Given that all too many jobs available to women are collateral damage amid Covid-19, one wonders if 2030 isn’t also too ambitious.

In this context, the man likely to replace Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, 71, seems right out of central casting for the male-dominated Liberal Democratic Party. So far, Suga has made no mention about whether he might name a woman or two to his cabinet.

Indeed, some female LDP lawmakers did express interest in replacing Abe. They include former Internal Affairs Minister Seiko Noda and former Defense Minister Tomomi Inada. Neither, however, garnered enough support within the LDP to get on the ballot.

Par for the course in such a male-dominated country as Japan, many pundits will say. But it’s still a disappointing outcome eight years after all that shining talk. Abe’s gender report card is decidedly dull. Japan’s next leader should treat gender-empowerment as a vital growth strategy, not some throw-away public relations campaign. That $550 billion is nothing to sniff at.