Aug. 2019
Survey of Corporate Attitudes Towards Promotion of Women (2019)
Average proportion of women in managerial posts, 7.7%, continues to expand moderately
— To promote women’s participation and advancement in the workplace, reducing the burden at home, such as through childcare support, is key —
Introduction
Amid the growing presence of women in the workplace due to the shrinking working-age population and the increasing number of double income households, the government advocates promotion of women’s participation and advancement in the workplace as important pillars in its policy. Women’s participation in the labor force not only secures the labor force to address the manpower shortage, but is also identified as introducing new perspectives in companies and reform of men’s work style. On the other hand, it is also true that many issues pertaining to women’s participation in the labor force have not been solved yet.
Teikoku Databank has conducted a survey of corporate attitudes towards the promotion of women. This survey was conducted in conjunction with the July 2019 TDB Trends Research.
*Survey period: July 18 – July 31, 2019, Companies Surveyed: 23,650, Valid Responses: 10,091 (Response Rate: 42.7%). The survey for the promotion of women has been conducted every July since 2013. This is the 7th survey.
*Details of this survey can be found on the dedicated Economic Trend Survey HP(http://www.tdb-di.com).
Primary points of survey results(summary)
- 1 The proportion of women in managerial posts averages 7.7%, an increase of 0.5 points y-o-y. The proportion of companies with "over 30%" showed a moderate increase, at 7.1% (an increase of 0.3 points y-o-y). Conversely, nearly half of companies, at 46.7%, do not have women in managerial posts, but the proportion of women in managerial posts is on the rise. In addition, the proportions of women among all employees and among executive officers, averages 25.2%, an increase of 0.3 points y-o-y, and 9.8%, an increase of 0.1 points y-o-y, respectively.
- 2 23.6% of companies anticipate an increase in women in managerial posts in their companies, and 7.6% of companies anticipate an increase in the proportion of executive officers who are women.
- 3 Companies that utilize a female workforce and promote women irrespective of their being inside or outside of the company account for 50%. That effect stood out, with almost 70% of companies saying, “They could make good use of excellent human resources regardless of gender” (68.0%), followed by “Diversified working styles were promoted” (28.4%), and “Women’s view of work has changed” (27.5%).
- 4 Matters pertaining to reduction of women’s burden at home are listed in the top three focal points in order to promote women’s participation and advancement in the workplace. “Enhancement of support of pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing” ranked top at over 60% (60.5%), followed by “Enhancement of childcare service” including the elimination of having children on a waiting list and the shortage of children’s nurses (59.0%), and “Support for balancing work and child-rearing” (58.4%) such as support for returning to work from childcare leave.