Women in Management Positions in Japan. Trends, Challenges and Opportunities

Diploma Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,0, TU Bergakademie Freiberg (Chair of Business English, Business Communication and Intercultural Communication), language: English, comment: Verknüpfung von Ergebnissen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis. Mit Bestnote ausgezeichnete Diplomarbeit. , abstract: The representation of women in management is a globally and frequently discussed phenomenon. Albeit the worldwide number of female managers is continuously increasing, progress is still slow and full of barriers (ILO, 2004). These obstacles are described as an invisible glass ceiling: Negative attitudes and prejudices within organizations prevent women from climbing the career ladder (Wirth, 2001). However, culture seems to be an important factor of influence for female management opportunities. For example, female managers tend to be generally less accepted in Asia than in America or Eastern Europe (ILO, 2004). Among Asian countries, Japan is very special: Although the country is one of the most developed and richest economies in the world, gender equality is extremely low there (UNDP, 2007; Fackler, 2007). Women are often hired for administrative tasks only and not allowed to pursue own careers. Despite growing attempts to strengthen gender equality, Japanese females are still discriminated against and expected to stick to their traditional duties as mothers, wives, and "office flowers" (Faiola, 200...