Japanese PM Announces Women Engagement In Economy

Tokyo, Sept 13, IRNA – Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, on Friday announced his idea of women active engagement in economy and hoped for a society in which all people—both men and women—shine. In an opening speech at the Open Forum of the World Assembly for Women in Tokyo: WAW! Tokyo 2014, Abe referred to his appointment of five women as Cabinet ministers. The number is said to be equal to be the highest ever in Japan…. Through the reshuffle, the number of female cabinet members in Japan advanced remarkably, he added. He said Japan has set a target of having women occupy 30 per cent of leadership positions by 2020 A survey conducted among the top 500 corporations chosen by Fortune magazine concluded that profitability of companies having three or more female board directors is more than 80 per cent higher than companies with no women on the board, while also attracting stock investment, he added. “We will also provide subsidies to those companies that newly pursue the appointment of women to executive ranks. The PM said Tokyo is working to stimulate economic growth while also making various efforts to support the dynamic engagement of women. Many women wish to continue to engage in satisfying work as long as possible, said Abe, adding a large number of women are also working hard to be active within their companies in pursuit of promotion. I want to spread this transformation to the entire world, he noted./end