Jul. 2018
Survey of Corporate Attitudes Towards Promotion of Women (2018)
Average proportion of women in managerial posts is 7.2%,an increase of 0.3 points y-o-y
— Recognizing the effect on changes in employees’ work values and promotion of diversified working styles —
Introduction
Amid a decreasing working-age population and increasing double income households, the government advocates promotion of women’s participation and advancement in the workplace as an important pillar in the robust policy and growth strategy. Besides study findings that indicate women’s participation in the labor force leads to enhancement of productivity and corporate performance, their participation not only secures the labor force by addressing the manpower shortage but also is identified as the discovery of new perspectives in companies, and reconsideration of the way men work.
Teikoku Databank has conducted a survey of corporate attitudes towards offering more opportunities to women and promotion of women. This survey was conducted in conjunction with the July 2018 TDB Trends Research. The survey for promotion of women has been conducted every July since 2013, and this is the 6th survey.
*Survey period: July 18 – July 31, 2018, Companies Surveyed: 23,112, Valid Responses: 9,979 (Response Rate: 43.2%).
*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 While nearly half of companies (48.4%) do not have women in managerial posts, the proportion of companies with "over 30%" is gradually increasing at 6.8%, and the proportion of women in managerial posts averages 7.2%, an increase of 0.3 points y-o-y. The proportions of women among all employees and among executive officers average 24.9%, an increase of 0.3 points y-o-y, and 9.7%, an increase of 0.4 points y-o-y, respectively.
- 2 The proportion of women in managerial posts in unlisted companies averages 7.2%, and 5.1% in listed companies. The proportion of executive officers who are women in unlisted companies is 2.1 points higher than in listed companies.
- 3 While companies that responded that women in managerial posts have increased from 5 years ago stood at 21.6%, 24.6% of companies anticipate an increase in women in managerial posts in their companies in the future. In terms of the proportion of executive officers who are women, 8.2% of companies showed an increase from 5 years ago, and 7.5% of companies anticipate an increase in the future.
- 4 With respect to utilization of the female workforce and promotion of women, while companies that "utilize a female workforce and promote women from inside the company" exceeds 40% (43.1%), those companies that "utilize a female workforce and promote women from outside the company" account for 12.7%. That effect stands out, with 67.6% of companies saying "they could make good use of excellent human resources regardless of gender,” followed by “Women’s work values have changed,” “Diversified working styles were promoted,” “Employees’ motivation increased” and “Business proceeded smoothly by promoting women.” In particular, companies with a large number of employees tend to strongly recognize that effect.