Japan is considering requiring companies' annual reports to disclose average wages by gender and the ratio of female managers, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter, as it seeks to close the pay gap between men and women.
The mandatory rule could be implemented as early as the fiscal year beginning in April 2023, the people said.
The move would be part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's push to narrow income disparities and achieve more equal distribution of wealth for a sustainable economic recovery. The government is also considering having firms disclose the ratio of male workers on childcare leave, said the sources, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
"The wage gap between men and women is an economic and financial problem, and the premier has a sense of crisis about it," a third government official said. "Other countries are moving at a tremendous speed. Japan has to go about three times as fast as before (to catch up)", said the official.
A panel overseen by the watchdog Financial Services Agency, aims to draw up a report on the measures this spring.
"We are discussing the issues and nothing has been decided," an official at the agency said. Japan lags major peers on pay equality. Its gender pay gap was the largest of the Group of Seven (G7) nations, according to a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
It ranked 120 out of 156 countries in the World Economic Forum's 2021 Global Gender Gap Index, scoring poorly on women's economic participation and opportunity, as well as political empowerment.
The average salary for women who work full-time was 251,800 yen ($2,083) a month in 2020 - not quite 75% of the 338,800 yen earned by men, according to health ministry data.
In Japan, listed firms are required to submit securities reports within three months of the financial year end, with many of them settling their accounts in March.
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Takahiko Wada; Writing by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Bradley Perrett)
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU