Few Women Rising to the Top in the Land of the Rising Sun
by Caroline Shannon (Akron, Ohio)
Sakie Fukushima had to work her way to the top just like any mover and shaker in the business world. Her multiple degrees, including a Masters from Harvard Graduate School of Education and an MBA from Stanford University, led her to several significant positions, including her role as a consultant at Bain & Company, a major strategic management consulting firm, and her current position as the Office Managing Director of Korn/Ferry International in Tokyo.
But Fukushima also had an additional hurdle – she had to overcome the stigma that is often attached to women in the Japanese business world.
“The Confucian influence in Japan has traditionally dictated a clear division of labor between men (who are expected to earn a living working outside the family) and women (who are expected to take care of domestic matters, including the family),” says Fukushima, who has also authored several books, including, How to Become Marketable Before You Become 40 Years Old. “With this cultural and historical background, there is still a societal attitude to consider it natural for men to be the breadwinner and for women to raise the family.
Still, Fukushima says she is beginning to see a bit of a lift on the prejudice, and her notion has been proven by one recent study which shows that, while the changes are coming along slowly, over the past fifteen years the business realm of Japan has seen a constant change, especially in the arena that concerns an increase of women in the workplace.
“Women’s role in the Japanese workforce has grown in the past decade in part due to the demographic trends of a low birth rate and ageing society,” Fukushima says. “Japanese companies are realizing that with a shrinking workforce, it needs to rely more on a diverse workforce, including women.”
But Fukushima is quick to assert that women’s influence in Japanese management is still restricted, especially given the fact that very few women are seen in senior management positions or roles of the like. Jason Hancock, president and CEO of Sowilo Consulting, LLC, agrees with Fukushima:
“This is a huge issue within broader Japanese culture, not just the business environment,” says Hancock, who worked in the Japanese corporate environment for two years. “While the Japanese can be more flexible and open than we (Americans) are with gender issues and identity, both sexes often dig in their heels on traditional and stereotypical topics.”
“In the long term, the influence of women in Japanese business is almost certain to grow, although in the short term the influence is small,” says Fukushima. “For instance, a recent survey found that there are only five women on the board of directors of the 27 Japanese companies that are on Fortune’s Global 200 companies. This is an improvement from five years ago, when there were only two women, including myself, but still a far cry from the number of women on the board of many U.S. and European companies.”
And Fukushima is right about the number of women in power positions: The same study showed that few Japanese women actually achieve management positions, and even less become CEOs, an interesting fact seeing as how there are women serving as CEOs of Japanese subsidiaries in the United States.
But, perhaps, that is just the beginning of the small changes that Fukushima is referring to when she talks about women in the Japanese workforce. As Hancock says, “It may be possible to overcome prejudices, but it will require a samurai spirit of perseverance, persistence, and focusing on long-term objectives.”
