A joint study from WTW, Symphony Financial Partners, and Xebral finds that women account for 13.11% of board member and officer roles, and less than 10% of managerial roles.
By Maggie Mancini
Women employed in Japanese-listed corporations earn an average of 67.04% of what their male counterparts earn, according to a study conducted by WTW, Symphony Financial Partners, and Xebral earlier this year. The study finds that the pay disparity is slightly wider for part-time employees, with women earning 69.65% of what men earn, compared to 71.64% among those employed in full-time positions.
This gap is seen at its widest in the air transportation industry, with women earning 48.40% of what men earn, as well as banking (51.92%), and fisheries, agriculture and forestry (56.81%). The difference is at its most narrow in information and communications, where women earn 74.23% of what men earn, as well as securities and commodities futures (73.90%), and iron and steel (72.16%).
The study reveals a lack of female representation within leadership positions in Japan-listed companies, with women accounting for 13.11% of board member and officers’ roles, and just 9.47% of managerial roles, on average. Larger companies are more likely to appoint female board members and officers but lag smaller companies when it comes to appointing women to managerial roles.
The level of female representation in managerial roles varies widely across industries. The three industries with the highest proportion of women in managerial roles include air transportation (27.83%), services (20.97%), and insurance (18.06%), while the three industries with the lowest proportion of women include construction (2.52%), mining (3.50%), and transportation equipment (3.55%).
Differences in female representation are narrower at the board and officer level. The three industries with the highest proportion of women are oil and coal products (19.34%), insurance (17.49%), and pharmaceuticals (17.46%), while the three industries where women are least represented at the board and officer level are warehousing and harbor transportation services (9.35%), iron and steel (9.73%), and construction (11.19%).
The study finds no correlation between the gender pay gap and the proportion of women in managerial roles, suggesting that initiatives aimed at increasing the proportion of female executives in the medium- to long-term may not necessarily lead to improvements in the gender pay gap.
