Japan's gender gap has gotten even worse, according to this year's report by the World Economic Forum released last month. Japan fell to 105th out of 136 countries — down from 101st last year — to the lowest rank ever. The government's goal of increasing the percentage of women in leadership positions in every sector of society to 30 percent by 2020 seems farther away than ever.
The drop this year was due in part to a decrease in the number of female lawmakers. Japan's Diet consists of just over 10 percent women, one of the lowest rankings in the world, putting it at No. 118 in the world. Japan's ranking has been consistently, embarrassingly low since the World Economic Forum began its annual survey in 2006. Japanese women continue to do well in many categories, such as literacy and secondary education. Japan's ranking in wage equality also improved, with Japan moving up to 87th.
However, these positive results only make it all the more clear that a reasonably fair start in society and relatively equal hiring at a young age does not translate into full equality. Japanese women are still not getting the opportunities they deserve at higher levels.
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