Japan Improves Least in Women's Participation
May 4, 1999 - 0:0
TOKYO Japan improved the least among 10 select countries in terms of women's participation in economic and political activities and taking part in decision-making between 1995 and 1998, according to a government white paper on gender equality released Friday. The report, compiled by the Prime Minister's Office, said Japan's Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), a yardstick of women's participation in society, showed the lowest increase for Japan compared with that of nine countries - Britain, South Korea, Sweden, the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway and France. The GEM, an index developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), calculates four factors: the ratio of seats in Parliament held by women, the ratio of female administrators and managers, the ratio of female professionals and technical workers and women's share of earned income.
Sweden and Norway, which rank high in terms of GEM point values - ranking first and second in the world respectively for 1995 and 1998 - maintain a balance among the four elements, the report said. Meanwhile, Japan, France and South Korea, which have low GEM point values, display an imbalance among the four elements, with low ratios of women parliamentarians and women in government and managerial positions, it said.
In 1998, Japan ranked 38th, France 31st and South Korea 83rd on the GEM index. According to UNDP statistics, Japan's GEM stood at 0.472 in 1998, compared with that of 1995 when the country's GEM stood at 0.442. Japan ranked 27th on the GEM in that year. Among the 10 countries, Britain, ranking 20th in 1998, improved the most with an increase of 0.110 point to 0.593, followed by Australia, ranking 12th in 1998, improving by 0.096 point to 0.664. The two countries were followed by Canada, France and the United States. Japan's GEM index for 1998 was based on figures that women held 7.7 percent seats in Parliament, while female administrators and managers accounted for 8.9 percent, female professional and technical workers 43.3 percent and women's share of earned income was 34 percent.
(DPA)
Sweden and Norway, which rank high in terms of GEM point values - ranking first and second in the world respectively for 1995 and 1998 - maintain a balance among the four elements, the report said. Meanwhile, Japan, France and South Korea, which have low GEM point values, display an imbalance among the four elements, with low ratios of women parliamentarians and women in government and managerial positions, it said.
In 1998, Japan ranked 38th, France 31st and South Korea 83rd on the GEM index. According to UNDP statistics, Japan's GEM stood at 0.472 in 1998, compared with that of 1995 when the country's GEM stood at 0.442. Japan ranked 27th on the GEM in that year. Among the 10 countries, Britain, ranking 20th in 1998, improved the most with an increase of 0.110 point to 0.593, followed by Australia, ranking 12th in 1998, improving by 0.096 point to 0.664. The two countries were followed by Canada, France and the United States. Japan's GEM index for 1998 was based on figures that women held 7.7 percent seats in Parliament, while female administrators and managers accounted for 8.9 percent, female professional and technical workers 43.3 percent and women's share of earned income was 34 percent.
(DPA)